The family of Peter R. Moody Jr. of Notre Dame, IN announces his passing, and invites all who knew him to remember him here.
These few paragraphs cannot hold a life, but they may carry a memory.
Peter held deeply to the Catholic faith — and was, by all accounts, loved by those who knew him best.
A life of faith is rarely a life of certainty — but always one of trust.
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It is with deep sadness that the children of Peter Richard Moody Jr. announce the passing of their father, a year after that of their mother, his devoted wife, and with great faith that they may be reunited with each other in the Kingdom of God.
Peter was born on October 13, 1943, in San Francisco, California. Growing up in an Air Force family, he attended schools in New York, Alabama, California, France, and Colorado. He graduated from Air Academy High School in 1961. That fall he met Peggy Shahan, his future wife and lifelong best friend, during Freshman orientation at Vanderbilt University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1965. Peter and Peggy married in 1966 in New Haven, Connecticut, where Peter was a doctoral student at Yale University. He learned Chinese and studied the Chinese government on the Yale campus and in Taiwan, welcomed his first two children, and earned his Ph.D. in 1971. Peter began his career that fall at the University of Notre Dame, where he dedicated over forty years to education, research, and scholarship as a professor of Government and Political Science. Over the years, he grew his family to six children, instilling in them his example of the married life, love of country, and duty to family and God. He enjoyed teaching and maintained relationships with many of his graduate students long after they had moved on to their own careers. An expert in modern Chinese politics, he authored and edited many books and scholarly articles, while his interests spanned a broad set of disparate subjects. He was a great lover of language and literature, speaking multiple languages including Chinese and French, and his house was packed with books all read and cataloged in his mind. Known for his sense of humor, he was quick to recognize the absurd and catch people off guard. His career focused on scholarship, but he taught by example to aim upward in all aspects of life, including the body and spirit. Having competed in both track and swimming in college, he continued to exercise every day of his life until his body would no longer let him. He provided the religious foundation for his family, complementing his wife's powerful spirituality, bringing up his children in the Catholic Church as a longtime member of Sacred Heart Parish at Notre Dame. He believed in service, generously giving to church and charity. He served for decades as a member and then treasurer of the Sacred Heart chapter of St. Vincent de Paul. In the '70s, he took in refugees from war-torn countries and helped give a fresh start to his foster daughter, Debbie McCalister.
Peter is survived by his children John (Tammy) Moody, Joe (Melissa) Moody, Ben (Jackie) Moody, Becky (Obadiah) Swafford, Anne (Mike) Nolan, and Bill (Natalie) Moody, twenty-four grandchildren, and six great grandchildren with a seventh on the way. He is predeceased by his parents, Peter Richard Moody and Janet Lucey Moody, and his brother Joseph, and leaves behind his sisters Judy McDermott and Melissa Hawes, his brother Benjamin Moody, his stepmother Mary Moody, and his stepsister Jackie Bradley.
A viewing will be held at Kaniewski Funeral Home from 11:30 – 1:30 on May 11, with words of remembrance at 12:30 and the rosary at 1:00, followed by a funeral Mass at the Sacred Heart Basilica at Notre Dame at 2:30.
In lieu of flowers, the family welcomes donations in his name to the St. Vincent de Paul Society of St. Joseph County.
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