James Gary Moose, 72, of Statesville, N.C., passed peacefully on Wednesday, April 16, 2025, surrounded by his loving family at the Gordon Hospice House. Born July 21, 1952, he was the son of the late James Mack Moose and the late Doris Bennett Moose. Gary lived a life full of love, laughter, and loyalty to God, family, and country.

Gary met the love of his life, Kathryn Bustle Moose, in middle school—and from that moment on, they were rarely apart. So smitten was he that he married her as a senior in high school in 1970. The couple had a double wedding ceremony at their home church, Beulah Baptist, with Kathy’s sister Debbie and her husband Lynn. Gary and Kathy’s marriage was a true love story and unshakable partnership that spanned more than five decades.

Shortly after high school, Gary became the last U.S. Army draftee from Iredell County during the Vietnam War. He completed basic training at Fort Jackson, S.C., and then served at Fort Monmouth, N.J., where their daughter, Cheryl, was born, before a transfer took them to Albuquerque, N.M. While there, he officially worked as an air traffic radio transmitter—and unofficially dominated pickup volleyball and bowling matches.

After the Army, the family returned to Statesville, where Gary launched a long and successful career as an industrial engineer. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, his work took the family to Oklahoma and Mississippi before bringing them back home again to North Carolina. Along the way, he made lifelong friends across the globe while traveling for work to places such as Los Angeles, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Thailand, Vietnam, and more.

Gary was also a big fan of the Washington Redskins (now Commanders—though he liked to pretend that part didn’t happen) and NASCAR. If he and Cheryl couldn’t watch a game or race in person from the stands or side-by-side in recliners at home, their game-day and race-day texts flew back and forth like commentary from their own private broadcast booth.

Gary eventually retired from textiles and brought his number-crunching talents home to work full-time in the family income tax business. At home, Gary had an engineer’s mind and a handyman’s heart. If his wife, daughter, or mother saw it on HGTV or Pinterest, Gary could build it, fix it, or invent something better. He spent his weekends happily tinkering in his shop, landscaping the perfect yard, changing oil in his own cars, and then washing them.

Gary was the kind of man who could build a deck, grow a squash, explain the mysteries of a carburetor, and crack a dad joke all in the same afternoon. He was loyal, funny, curious, humble, and deeply loved—and he gave all of that love right back, tenfold.

Most recently, he and Kathy were partners in lovingly caring for his mother, Doris, who died in September 2024, and his father-in-law, Grier Bustle, who died in April 2023. Gary was diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer in November 2024 and fought the good fight through treatments and setbacks, earning him the nickname “Man of Steel” from his son-in-law, Wes.

The family is forever grateful for his team of doctors and nurses at Dr. Scholar’s office, Dr. Deberardinis’ office, and Dr. Nicholson’s office, as well as the compassionate staff at Gordon Hospice House.

In addition to his forever sweetheart, Kathy; daughter Cheryl Moose Shuffler; and son-in-law Wes Shuffler, he is survived by granddaughter Abi; sister Debbie Sweeney (Steve); brother Jamie Moose (Tammy); sister-in-law Debbie McNeely and her husband Lynn; brother-in-law David Bustle; nieces and nephews Emily Sweeney, Nick Sweeney, Kaitlin Moose, Kira Moose, Braeden Moose, Robert (Ali) McNeely, and Jennifer (Joe) Davenport; many great-nieces and great-nephews; and granddogs, Bubba and Huxley, who always knew who the soft-touch treat guy was.

Memorials may be made to Beulah Baptist Church, 1851 Old Mountain Road, Statesville, NC 28677, or Gordon Hospice House, 2341 Simonton Road, Statesville, NC 28625.

The funeral service for Gary will be at 2:30 p.m. on Monday, April 21, 2025, at Beulah Baptist Church with Rev. Brian Burgess officiating. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. The family will receive friends from 1 to 2:15 p.m. at the church.

Troutman Funeral Home is honored to serve the Moose family.