Dear Readers—this will be the final edition of the Bottom Feeder; all good things must end. Bill passed away January 3, 2021. Pulmonary arterial hypertension and pulmonary vein obstructive disease was just too much for his heart to handle. He was able to make his own decisions about end of life, was an organ donor, and asked for an autopsy to provide information to others about these not fully understood conditions. His best wishes to all his subscribers! Raise a glass to his memory! His obituary follows.
William C. Moody, aka Bill, aka Flutter One, aka the Bottom Feeder passed away on January 3, 2021. He leaves MFO (Carol Moody), FOJTE (Christopher Moody and his wife Lea Wilke in St. Louis, MO), and FOJTY (Ian Moody and his wife Tara in Kansas City, KS) and grandson Tyler Moody. Bill was born October 25, 1941 in Lansing, Michigan to Morris and Genevieve Moody. He attended K-12 schools in East Lansing, Michigan and walked across the street to Michigan State University for his undergraduate and masters degrees in civil engineering, specializing in structural dynamics. That specialty led to a position at McDonnell Aircraft in St. Louis in 1965. He was lucky enough to be assigned to the space program and worked on the docking system for the Gemini spacecraft. After that, it was airplanes: the F-4 UK, the F-15, which meant a stint at Edwards Air Force Base in California, the AV8-B, which brought him to Pax River in the middle 1970s, the F-18AB, and the Spanish F-18. For that aircraft, he was able to spend nearly four months in Spain, which was a highlight of his life. In the early 1990s, Bill worked on the company’s candidate for the Joint Strike Fighter, and then moved on to the Navy’s F-18 for the rest of his career. He came to Pax River to stay in 1996 on the F-18EF, leading the flutter testing on the aircraft—hence, Flutter One. During this period, Bill wrote a daily status report for the aircraft and took to commenting on local dining and culture at the bottom of the report, hence, The Bottom Feeder. This became very popular; literally hundreds of people subscribed to the status report to read the Bottom Feeder. Bill retired from Pax in 2009.
Outside of work, in St. Louis, Bill was an ice hockey coach for Peewees up to high school for about 20 years. He was in the first class of coaches trained by USA Hockey in Colorado Springs. At Pax River, he eventually became the Boeing Community Relations representative, which led to service on the board of the United Way of Patuxent River. He served on the Historic St. Mary’s City Foundation Board for several years and enjoyed his time as a docent at the restored Brick Chapel there. He was a member of Lexington Park Rotary from 2001 until his death, serving as president of the club in 2010-2011, and as King Oyster after that. He especially enjoyed the role of King Oyster—everyone wanted their picture taken with the king in his magnificent robes. Eventually, he managed the Oyster Cook-off during the Club’s Oyster Festival every October. He served as a board member of the St. Mary’s Hospital Foundation and came to be the person who picked the wines for the MedStar St. Mary’s Hospital Gala.
After retirement, Bill continued and expanded his interests. He continued to publish the Bottom Feeder as a blog: www.billsbottomfeeder.blogspot.com. He got serious about photography so he could include pictures in the blog. Sunrise on the Patuxent was a popular theme. He also enjoyed the bird life of our area. He helped with the Chronicles, St. Mary’s County Historical Society’s publication, as part of the editorial team. He and Carol traveled to France several times, enjoying memorable Michelin star meals, and joined Henry Miller and the Historic St. Mary’s City travelers to see relevant sites in the UK and Ireland. He patronized and encouraged any independent dining establishment in the area and enjoyed knowing the people who labored in that field. He learned a lot from gracious people such as Michael and Lisa Kelley, Loic Jaffres, and Rob Plant.
To the end of his life, Bill enjoyed knowing people and sharing life experiences with them. Many will remember him for his wry sense of humor.
Bill is very proud of his sons, who have been supportive during his illness. The elder is a high school math teacher, former hockey player, and a golf coach. The younger is a police officer, currently working for the University of Kansas Medical Center, also a former hockey player, and a dog trainer for wire-haired pointing griffons. His daughters-in-law have helped enormously, one as a social worker and one as a nurse practitioner. Grandson Tyler, other family members, countless friends, co-workers, neighbors, and the wonderful folks at Georgetown Medical Center and Johns Hopkins have provided help and support as well. There are many good people in the world!
Memorial gifts may be directed to Historic St. Mary’s City Foundation, Box 39, St. Mary’s City, MD, www.hsmcdigshistory.org
Historic Sotterley 44300 Sotterley Lane, Hollywood, MD, 20636, www.Sotterley.org
St. Mary’s County Historical Society, Box 212, Leonardtown, MD, 20650, www.stmaryshistory.org
Now, even though he will not be here to remind you: DFD!
