The early morning flames of a devastating fire took the life of Clarkston resident Jeanie Louise (Weir) Moon, Saturday, March 1, at the age of 60.
Fire Marshal Greg Olrich of the Independence Township Fire Department said the call for a fire at 6314 Church St., near the intersection of Pear., came in at 6:13 a.m., but many in the neighborhood noted they had smelled smoke for 30 to 45 minutes prior to call for 911.
“It burnt for a long time,” Olrich said of the 1960-built home.
As flames shot out the roof, shortly after the Fire Department arrived, the floor in one of the bedrooms collapsed into the basement.
“This added to the difficulty of extinguishing the fire, because we were fighting structural collapse,” Olrich said, adding the cause of the fire has not yet been determined, but the fire did originate in the basement.
Unfortunately, the Fire Department was unable to find any working smoke detectors in the home. In fact, Olrich said one did not have a battery installed and an unopened package of smoke detectors was found as well.
Using this tragedy as an example, he stresses the importance of having an adequate number of working smoke detectors in a home.
Born May 25, 1943, Moon was the daughter of the late Rev. Dr. Samuel Carson Weir and the late Louise Helen (Beach) Weir. Her father was, for many years, pastor of the Littlefield Presbyterian Church in Dearborn. Her mother taught school.
After graduation from Fordson High School in 1960, Moon attended Muskingum College where she earned a B.A. in Home Economics. She later earned her Masters Degree from Eastern Michigan University.
Like her mother, Moon was a teacher. She began her career in the Dearborn Public Schools and, following her marriage in 1966, moved to Clarkston and began her long association with the Waterford Public Schools.
At the time of her death she taught a variety of subjects at Waterford Kettering High School where she also ran the child care program and worked with young mothers and teens at risk.
Moon served as the director of worship at White Lake Presbyterian Church where she chaired the worship committee and was an Elder. She had formerly been an active member of the Lakeland Presbyterian Church.
In addition to her professional and religious life, Moon was an avid amateur breeder and exhibitor of show dogs and was a member of the Michigan Humane Society. She would often pick up stray dogs, nurse them back to health and find good homes for them.
Two of Moon’s dogs as well as two cats were found dead from the fire, Olrich said. Another of Moon’s cats has not yet been found.
She loved plants and flowers, antiquing, and golf and played at the Clarkston Golf Club, Highland Hills, Heather Highlands and elsewhere. She loved to read and had a broad range of interests and was, in the words of a dear friend, “a very wise woman.”
Moon is survived by her son, Jonathon Arthur Moon of Waterford; her former spouse, Richard Moon; a sister Ms. Janet Beth Weir of Detroit; her maternal uncle and aunt, Dr. Eugene H. and Ruby B. Beach of Silver Spring, MD; many cousins and loving friends who join her family in mourning her passing.
Funeral Services are Thursday, March 6, at 2 p.m. at White Lake Presbyterian Church, 4805 E. Highland Road, White Lake. The Rev. Deborah Kerr will officiate. Burial will follow in Highland Cemetery.
Memorials to the Michigan Humane Society or White Lake Presbyterian Church appreciated. For further information call (248) 684-6645 or visit www.LynchFuneralDirectors.com.