Wendell "Buzz" Moore

Wendell "Buzz" Moore, 70, formerly of Moline, died October 18, 2011, in DeBary, FL, after a lengthy illness.
Funeral Services will be held at Esterdahl Mortuary & Crematory, Ltd., 6601-38th Ave., Moline on Tuesday, October 25, 2011, at 11 a.m. Visitation will be from 3-7 p.m. Monday, October 24th, at the funeral home. Entombment will be in Moline Memorial Park Mausoleum. Memorials may be made to the American Cancer Society.
Visitation for family friends will be held at Baldauff Funeral Home, Florida, on Friday, October 21st from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Buzz was born November 5, 1940 in Moline to Frances Isakson Moore and Harold Moore. He graduated from Orion High School in 1959. He married Barbara Hotchkiss Stucker in January of 1963. They later divorced but remained friends and she was one of many people who came to visit him in recent months, some from hundreds of miles away.
Even as a young boy, Buzz had an entrepreneurial spirit. Living in Orion with his mother and sister, he used a custom made wagon for his mowing business, bought and sold candy bars, and worked on his Uncle Russell's farm in the summers. In high school, he worked at the Standard Gas Station in Orion and in his senior year, he saved enough money to purchase a new 1959 Ford Fairlane with cash.
Buzz was a highly successful businessman who formed East Moline Wholesale with his father in 1967. Although they had a warehouse for their truck-stop products, they still traveled the country selling out of an Econoline van. In 1970, Harold Moore sold his part of the business to Bruce Dorbeck and in 1975, they moved to East Moline Industrial Park and renamed their business Barjan Products. As the business grew, Buzz and Bruce moved from vans to semis and Wendy I and Wendy II were born. From working out of a garage, to a 12,000 sq. ft. warehouse to a building over 65,000 sq. ft., Buzz worked hard to stay ahead of demand. Bruce sold his share of the company to Buzz's son Bob, in 1982. In 1990 Buzz and Bob purchased Coco Inc. in DeLand, Florida and renamed the business Lesco, a company they later sold. The father and son partnerships flourished as they brought Barjan into the computer age and created systems that are still setting the industry standard. Buzz and Bob sold Barjan to Pfingsten Partners in 1995. At the time, the company Buzz built was a multi-million dollar global business employing over 114 people in the Quad Cities as well as 23 independent contractors. Buzz remained involved in many ventures with Pfingsten Partners, Lynco Inc, and several Panchero's Restaurants. He also owned many properties around the country.
Although Buzz Moore amassed a large business empire over his lifetime, his greatest accomplishment might have been his ability to make a friend out of every stranger. He will be remembered by all who knew him as a strong, smart, caring man who lived by his principles and expected others to do the same. He was a man who always knew how to make the perfect deal and taught us all to always work hard, and dream big.
Buzz was a member of the Community United Methodist Church of DeBary, Florida. For several years, Buzz also helped to collect toys for needy children and then dressed as Santa to distribute the toys. He was an avid Bears, Cubs, and Hawkeye's fan. And although he worked hard, he was very close to his family, many of who worked alongside him over the years.
Those left to celebrate Buzz's life are his best friend and fiancé, Kathi Smith, his mother, Frances and sister, Marlo Wiegel, his children: Bob Stucker, Kay (Howard) Barnes, Kim Williams, Kit (Tom) Harper, grandchildren: Rean Taube, Tiffany (Ryan) Adleman, Robert Adam Stucker, Krysti Partlow, Ricky Partlow, Wendi Partlow, Eric (Amber) Wolfe, Melissa Harvey, Jake Harper, and Bonnie Harper, nieces and nephew Marcy (Bob) Jecks, Doug (Kathy) Wiegel, (Dawn Wiegel), Francie (Mike) Ferguson. Buzz also has twelve beautiful great grandchildren and another one due in the spring. He was preceded in death by his father, Harold, his brother-in-law, Reid Wiegel, and a special nephew Kurt Wiegel.