William Paul "Mo" Moses

Paul “Mo” Moses, aged eighty-six years and a resident of Boise City, Oklahoma for fifty-eight of those years, peacefully went home to be with his Lord and Savior on Wednesday, December 28, 2022.

Born William Paul Moses on August 9, 1936, in Sturgis, Oklahoma, he moved as a young boy to Campo, Colorado where he was a twelve-year senior of the graduating class of 1955. After graduating high school, he married his high school sweetheart Joyce Arlene Davison on March 27, 1957, and went on to raise two beautiful children, Pamela and Craig, in Boise City.

Shortly after marrying Joyce, Paul was drafted into the United States Army for the Vietnam War. While serving on active duty, he was also a member of the U.S. Army baseball team and the marksmanship unit of the rifle team. After being honorably discharged in 1960, he served in the Army Reserves for five years. 

While Paul was a skilled auto mechanic and cattle rancher, most will remember him as the owner of the Moses Family Shoes and Western Wear store where he fit shoes on the Boise City area for 25 years. Paul wore many “hats,” from Army helmet to baseball cap–but those closest to him will attest that his favorite was his cowboy hat. In addition to his cattle ranching, he traveled across the mid- and southwest to compete in rodeos as a team roper, even winning the National Old Timers’ Rodeo Association Finals in 1985. 

In addition to cars, cattle ranching, and roping, a few of Paul’s other favorite hobbies included fishing and any form of hunting, especially coyote hunting and bow-hunting elk in the Colorado mountains; off-roading in his Jeep CJ-5, aptly named “The Leaping Leopard”; eating all of Joyce’s cooking, especially her country-fried chicken with cream gravy; pleasure-riding around the ranch; playing and watching any sports, especially his OU Sooners and Dallas Cowboys; and music, especially singing and playing his harmonica (though he could pick up and play almost any instrument). 

As much as Paul enjoyed these activities and simple pleasures, nothing meant more to him than his relationship with the Lord. He became a believer at sixteen years of age and walked with Jesus the rest of his life, always using his many gifts to glorify God. He never met a stranger and never hesitated to lend a helping hand (less one thumb), whether that meant pulling a stranded commuter’s car from the highway ditch or bringing home a hungry belly for Joyce to feed or cheering up a sad soul with his harmonica rendition of “You Are My Sunshine.”

Paul is survived by:  his beloved wife Joyce of Boise City, OK; his eldest daughter Pam and son-in-law Michael of Guymon, OK; youngest son Craig of Amarillo, TX; grandchild Tasha and husband Brandon of Edmond, OK; grandchildren LaKrisha, Braden, and MiKaela; and great-grandchildren Baylor and Lincoln.

He was preceded in death by:  his father Richard M. Moses; his mother Hazel E. Lairson-Moses; his step-father George “PeeWee” Shackelford; his nine siblings Bessie, Ruby, Gayla, Wilma, Maurice, George, Jim, R.D., and infant baby Moses; his father-in-law Lib “G.G.” Litke; and his mother-in-law Cleo Litke.

Memorial Services are to be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, December 30th, 2022, at the First Baptist Church in Boise City with Pastor Trevor Bulls Officiating.

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