Family and friends filled the small church to say goodbye to the Northridge High School sophomore, who was killed Aug. 29 when he was struck by an SUV on Interstate 75.
Authorities believe he intentionally walked into the path of traffic after brutally beating his ex-girlfriend. The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office ruled the death a suicide.
The young woman, 16, remains in Miami Valley Hospital.
A red and white football jersey was draped across Moore’s casket, flanked by hand-made posters.
“If you’ve come tonight to see a sad, broken-down family, you came to the wrong place,” said Rick Smith, pastor of the church.
Indeed, the two dramas performed by the church’s youth group — at the request of Moore’s mother, according to youth pastor Joe Edwards — lifted those in attendance.
“Don’t be fooled,” Smith said. “You’re not promised another day. We’ve seen this week that death is no respector of youth. Brandon made his choice, and I personally believe he made his peace with God.”
Bill Harrsion, Moore’s first pastor, asked, “Did Brandon have issues? Yeah. But if anybody in here doesn’t have any they need to leave now. We all have issues. Issues with drugs, sexual issues, anger issues ... does that make you bad? No, that makes you human.”
Sobbing could be heard at various times during the memorial service, and tears flowed freely. But the somber air lifted occasionally.
Everyone laughed when Chris Cramer, who now pastors in Franklin, remembered first meeting Moore and his family when Moore was about 6. They were ministering and knocked on an apartment door.
“A lady came to the door and all these little kids came out,” Cramer said. “I was like, dang how many kids does this lady have?”
He said they offered the children suckers and he asked Moore if he liked grape. “He said, ‘Nah, but I like purple.”
Some of Moore’s classmates wore purple, yellow, or green T-shirts with a picture of him and the little dog. Some wore their football jerseys. Many wore purple ribbons tied to their forearms.
“He was real nice and outgoing,” said Tommy Vaughn, 16, a sophomore who said he played football with Moore last year. “It’s sad. He was so young.”
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