DURHAM, N.C. – Former Duke football standout Claude “T” Moorman, II, MD passed away on Tuesday, April 28, 2009 in his hometown of Plymouth, N.C. He was 69 years old.
Born August 21, 1939 in Roanoke, Va., Moorman was raised in Miami, Fla., where he was President of the Student Body at Miami High School and an all-state and All-America football player for the Stingarees. He matriculated to Duke University where he lettered three years (1958-60) for Duke and helped lead the Blue Devils to the 1960 ACC Championship, a No. 10 final national ranking by the Associated Press and a 7-6 win over seventh-ranked Arkansas in the Cotton Bowl. He recorded the game-winning touchdown on a pass reception in the fourth quarter against the Razorbacks.
As a senior in 1960, Moorman was selected a first team All-America by both the Football Writers Association of America and the Football News as well as earning first team All-ACC honors. He posted 54 receptions, still the 12th-best single season total for a Blue Devil and the second-highest ever by a tight end. He finished his career with 71 receptions for 709 yards and five touchdowns.
Moorman was recently honored as a member of the 2008 ACC Legends representing Duke University at the ACC Championship game in Tampa, Fla. He was also named to the NCAA Silver Anniversary Award, Duke’s Top 50 Athletes of the Century (Blue Devil Weekly), Florida’s all-time Top 100 Football Players and the Miami High School and Duke University Halls of Fame.
He attended Duke Medical School, completed his MD in 1966, and trained in Orthopaedics at Duke under Dr. Lenox Baker. He volunteered for medical service in Vietnam in 1970 and served with the AMA/USAID Team. He completed law school in 1979 and served with the Army Department of Legal Medicine, Armed Forces Institute of Pathology in Washington, D.C. Moorman subsequently commanded US Army Reserve Units at multiple sites and retired as a Colonel from the USAR in 1998. He formed and directed anesthesia groups in Leesburg, Va., Stuart, Fla., and Port St. Lucie, Fla., during his time as an Army Reserve Commander.
Moorman’s last decade was focused on living his dream as a farmer on the Albemarle Sound in Washington County, N.C.
He was proceeded in death by his parents and is survived by his cherished companion Mary Dinkins, his children Tee and Lynne Moorman of Durham, N.C., Pam and Scott Beecher of Concord, N.C., Tommy and Debra Moorman of Wake Forest, N.C., Jay and Jamee Moorman of Yuma, Ariz., Jill and Jason Kelso of Orlando, Fla., and his grandchildren Tommy Beecher, Matthew Beecher, Austin Moorman, C.T. Moorman IV, Katie Beecher, Virginia Moorman, Josh Moorman, Marianne Moorman, B.J. Beecher, Dax Moorman, Ellison Kelso, Loch Moorman.
A memorial service will be held at the Duke University Hall of Honor (adjacent to Cameron Indoor Stadium) at 4:00 p.m. with reception following in the Yoh Football Building on May 2, 2009. Internment will take place at the Arlington National Cemetery on July 22, 2009 at 1:00 p.m. with full military honors.
In lieu of flowers, gifts may be made in his memory to the Bassett Society, a scholarship support for Duke athletes pursuing medical/dental education. Bassett Society, DUMC, Box 3639, Durham, NC 27710.
