Mary Jane Gülck

For Walter Moore, Westernport resident Mary Jane Gülck’s late brother, the chance to attend Frostburg State University was a dream come true for a child who had fought a number of serious physical difficulties since birth and whose family was told he was unlikely to even finish high school. Moore’s legacy will now live on in the Walter Moore Endowed Scholarship Fund through the FSU Foundation, benefiting political science majors at FSU who have financial need. Gülck said her brother was a kind and giving man, so she and her other brothers, John Victor and Michael, along with other donors, added funds left from a special bequest of Walter’s to help out future FSU students.
“He was a kind and gentle soul who always had a ‘hello’ and “God bless you’ and ‘may the force be with you’ for everyone he met,” Gülck said. “He was just a delight – so kind to everybody,” she said. Moore dealt all his life with coordination, speech and vision problems, but encouraging teachers and counselors throughout his schooling recognized his ability and worked tirelessly with him, Gülck said. He graduated high school and came to Frostburg for college, where he found more helping hands, she said. “He lucked out with John Bambacus and John Wiseman.” He had a longtime love of political science and history, and he graduated as a political science major with honors.
“Walter was certainly one of those unforgettable and memorable characters that grace the classroom,” said Bambacus, professor emeritus of the Department of Political Science. “He was intelligent, well-read, and possessed a sense of certainty about himself, as well as wry humor, that endeared him to all. But he was more. Walter embraced his education at FSU far beyond the classroom and always kept in touch with professors and those who mattered to him.”
Wiseman, professor emeritus of the Department of History, recalled frequent, fervent, but good-natured arguments about politics and monarchy, which was a particular interest of Walter’s. “He was always willing to argue, and he would hold his ground,” Wiseman said. “He was just very upbeat and eager to learn, a very lovable guy.” He spent most of his career working for Social Security in Baltimore, retiring early as a quality review technician when he developed a vision problem. His sister said he was so popular that they had to turn people away from his retirement party.
Moore loved Allegany County, where Gülck lives, and had always wanted to return. After retiring, he took that opportunity, moving with their mother, Mary, to Westernport, near his sister. He cared for his mother until her death. To Gülck’s sorrow, just two weeks later in October of 2007, her brother was dead, too, after complaining of nothing more serious than a dizzy spell the day before. He was 57. Gülck was devastated that her “gentle giant” of a brother was gone, and so soon after losing her mother. As time has passed, her grief has turned into reflection.
[Published November 2009]