J. Matthew Moore Memorial Scholarship Fund

When he was tragically killed in an automobile accident in November 2003 his family did not hesitate to create an endowment fund for a scholarship in his memory.

Many members of the community were generous in their support of the project, making donations in his name. 

The scholarship was created to support a student of average ability from Cannelton or Tell City who demonstrated perseverance and hard work facing their personal challenges. 

Matt had some trouble learning to read, but he studied every night and by the fourth grade he was reading on his own and enjoying it.  But he still had difficulty with writing skills, even throughout college and then law school.  In high school he passed Algebra II thanks to thorough tutoring and nightly study sessions.

One of his professors at the University of Evansville commented on an exam paper that he could not understand how Matt could have such good ideas and yet not be able to write a decent sentence.

He played basketball on the B team in junior high and sat on the bench most of his senior year until Senior Night when they beat New Albany, a top ten team, and then went on to win the sectional that year.  He often got discouraged, but he never gave up.

He always knew he would return to Perry County.  He was born in Jasper and moved to Tell City in the fourth grade, but he always called Perry County his home.

He and Lucy always planned to come home and settle in Cannelton as soon as both of them had finished law school.

Once he moved back he jumped right into participating in local organizations such as Kiwanis, Jaycees, the St. Michael’s Church Council, and the Humane Society because he wanted to help improve Perry County for future generations.

He began helping coach the Cannelton Junior High Boys Basketball team before he had even opened his law office.  He loved working with kids.  The first game he coached was a Saturday morning tourney and when they lost (resoundingly), he took the boys back to the gym for a four hour fundamentals camp.  He was so proud of the boys because they rose to the challenge of much harder work out and no one quit.

He wasn’t a stellar student or athlete, but he was successful at both because he worked hard and persevered to overcome his limitations.

Creating a scholarship in his name and doing so through the Perry County Community Foundation was another way to continue his support for the community and to support young people who will hopefully come back home one day to become local leaders just as he had.