ROBERT BERNARD MOORMAN SR., 83
Longtime Gables jeweler
BY ELINOR J. BRECHER
ebrecher@MiamiHerald.com
Date: Oct 4, 2009; Section: Local & State; Page: 5B
Before he met Jeanne Ann Seghers of Cincinnati, Robert Moorman of St. Louis was planning a career as an insurance adjuster.
That all changed after they married in 1950 and moved to Miami, where the tall, blond, handsome Bob Moorman had spent a fun-in-the-sun summer as a tour guide.
Moorman pitched in at his father-in-law’s Coral Gables shop while looking for a job — and never left.
His father-in-law , Carroll Seghers, founded Carroll’s Jewelers in 1946, a cornerstone of the brand-new Miracle Mile.
Long known as ‘‘the store for brides,’’ Carroll’s has provided the sparkle accompanying thousands of popped questions since then.
Moorman ‘‘loved it because it was a happy business,’’ his wife said, and remained a Miracle Mile booster to the end — even as he battled sidewalk expansions and parallel-parking plans.
Robert Bernard Moorman Sr. — father of six, grandfather of 15, great-grandfather of six — died at home Sept. 24. He was 83 and had been in and out of hospitals since suffering a heart attack following back surgery in June.
The Moormans celebrated their 59th anniversary on Sept. 9 in a hospital room.
At the time of his death, Bob Moorman was the longest-serving member of the Coral Gables Rotary Club, according to Gene Mariutto, the retired tile-andgranite contractor who shared his lunch table on meeting days.
For about a half-century, Carroll’s core business was the bridal registry: china, silver and crystal. Anticipating future customers, Bob Sr. and his father-in-law taught tabletop etiquette to girls’ home economics classes at Coral Gables High School.
But as times and habits changed, the registry faded to a sideline. Now, said Bob Jr., jewelry and watches, repairs and design work account for most of the business.
A product of the Great Depression, Bob Sr. was one of a laundry manager’s nine children, two of whom died as infants. He began a seven-decade working life at age 11 as a delivery boy/soda jerk.
He kept offices at both Carroll’s stores, Miracle Mile and Fort Lauderdale’s Las Olas Boulevard, and showed up until he entered the hospital four months ago.
In 1943, the 17-year-old Moorman’s mother signed a waiver allowing her underage son to volunteer for the World War II military.
U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. Moorman saw combat in Europe and the Pacific with the VMF441 Squad, MAG31, according to son Bob Jr.
After the war, Moorman studied law at St. Louis University, where he met his future wife at a dance. They both left before earning degrees — he to work for General Motors’ insurance division, she for Cincinnati, where her father operated the original Carroll’s Jewelers.
Moorman spent the summer of 1949 shepherding tourists around South Florida, with side trips to Havana.
He proposed to Jeanne Ann months later — snowed in during a holiday-season visit to Cincinnati.
Within a year of their wedding, Bob Jr. was born — followed by three brothers and two sisters. Bob Sr. worked six day weeks at the store to send them all to parochial schools.
‘‘He was very frugal and conservative with his money,’’ said daughter Mary Ann Prezzano. ‘‘If you didn’t have the money for something you wanted, you didn’t get it.’’
Still, whenever a civic group needed an auction item or a prize, Bob Moorman reached into a case for something to donate. Son Bob said that for years, he gave every graduating senior at three high schools a key ring.
An American Gem Society Registered Jeweler, Moorman was active in the Florida Jewelry Association, heading committees that set professional standards and policies.
‘‘As corny as it sounds, he taught me about honesty and integrity,’’ said Bob Jr., who runs the Las Olas store.
‘‘Tell customers everything that you know. Keep your word.’’
His brother, Steve, operates the Miracle Mile store.
Bob Sr. reserved Sundays for the family: picnics at Matheson Hammock Park, cookouts, bike rides, the beach.
After morning Mass at the Church of the Epiphany, he’d take everyone to breakfast at the old Tyler’s Restaurant, where the kids could get anything on the menu — as long as it cost 50 cents or less.
Jeanne Ann joined school and civic groups, where ‘‘she acted as Dad’s PR person,’’ said Mary Ann, of Rochester, N.Y. She served on the Coral Gables City Commission in 1990, and remains in the Coral Gables house that the family bought in 1955.
In addition to his wife, sons Bob and Steve, and daughter Mary Ann, Moorman is survived by daughter Patty Sims of Atlanta, sons Mike, of Princeton, N.J., and John, of Miami, sisters Marie Moorman and Jane Jung of St.Louis, and Adele Moorman of Dubuque, Iowa, brothers Joe, of Omaha, Neb. and Tom, of St. Louis.
A funeral was held.
The family welcomes memorial donations to the Epiphany Endowment, Rotary Foundation, or LakayMarie.org.
Longtime Gables jeweler
BY ELINOR J. BRECHER
ebrecher@MiamiHerald.com
Date: Oct 4, 2009; Section: Local & State; Page: 5B
Before he met Jeanne Ann Seghers of Cincinnati, Robert Moorman of St. Louis was planning a career as an insurance adjuster.
That all changed after they married in 1950 and moved to Miami, where the tall, blond, handsome Bob Moorman had spent a fun-in-the-sun summer as a tour guide.
Moorman pitched in at his father-in-law’s Coral Gables shop while looking for a job — and never left.
His father-in-law , Carroll Seghers, founded Carroll’s Jewelers in 1946, a cornerstone of the brand-new Miracle Mile.
Long known as ‘‘the store for brides,’’ Carroll’s has provided the sparkle accompanying thousands of popped questions since then.
Moorman ‘‘loved it because it was a happy business,’’ his wife said, and remained a Miracle Mile booster to the end — even as he battled sidewalk expansions and parallel-parking plans.
Robert Bernard Moorman Sr. — father of six, grandfather of 15, great-grandfather of six — died at home Sept. 24. He was 83 and had been in and out of hospitals since suffering a heart attack following back surgery in June.
The Moormans celebrated their 59th anniversary on Sept. 9 in a hospital room.
At the time of his death, Bob Moorman was the longest-serving member of the Coral Gables Rotary Club, according to Gene Mariutto, the retired tile-andgranite contractor who shared his lunch table on meeting days.
For about a half-century, Carroll’s core business was the bridal registry: china, silver and crystal. Anticipating future customers, Bob Sr. and his father-in-law taught tabletop etiquette to girls’ home economics classes at Coral Gables High School.
But as times and habits changed, the registry faded to a sideline. Now, said Bob Jr., jewelry and watches, repairs and design work account for most of the business.
A product of the Great Depression, Bob Sr. was one of a laundry manager’s nine children, two of whom died as infants. He began a seven-decade working life at age 11 as a delivery boy/soda jerk.
He kept offices at both Carroll’s stores, Miracle Mile and Fort Lauderdale’s Las Olas Boulevard, and showed up until he entered the hospital four months ago.
In 1943, the 17-year-old Moorman’s mother signed a waiver allowing her underage son to volunteer for the World War II military.
U.S. Marine Staff Sgt. Moorman saw combat in Europe and the Pacific with the VMF441 Squad, MAG31, according to son Bob Jr.
After the war, Moorman studied law at St. Louis University, where he met his future wife at a dance. They both left before earning degrees — he to work for General Motors’ insurance division, she for Cincinnati, where her father operated the original Carroll’s Jewelers.
Moorman spent the summer of 1949 shepherding tourists around South Florida, with side trips to Havana.
He proposed to Jeanne Ann months later — snowed in during a holiday-season visit to Cincinnati.
Within a year of their wedding, Bob Jr. was born — followed by three brothers and two sisters. Bob Sr. worked six day weeks at the store to send them all to parochial schools.
‘‘He was very frugal and conservative with his money,’’ said daughter Mary Ann Prezzano. ‘‘If you didn’t have the money for something you wanted, you didn’t get it.’’
Still, whenever a civic group needed an auction item or a prize, Bob Moorman reached into a case for something to donate. Son Bob said that for years, he gave every graduating senior at three high schools a key ring.
An American Gem Society Registered Jeweler, Moorman was active in the Florida Jewelry Association, heading committees that set professional standards and policies.
‘‘As corny as it sounds, he taught me about honesty and integrity,’’ said Bob Jr., who runs the Las Olas store.
‘‘Tell customers everything that you know. Keep your word.’’
His brother, Steve, operates the Miracle Mile store.
Bob Sr. reserved Sundays for the family: picnics at Matheson Hammock Park, cookouts, bike rides, the beach.
After morning Mass at the Church of the Epiphany, he’d take everyone to breakfast at the old Tyler’s Restaurant, where the kids could get anything on the menu — as long as it cost 50 cents or less.
Jeanne Ann joined school and civic groups, where ‘‘she acted as Dad’s PR person,’’ said Mary Ann, of Rochester, N.Y. She served on the Coral Gables City Commission in 1990, and remains in the Coral Gables house that the family bought in 1955.
In addition to his wife, sons Bob and Steve, and daughter Mary Ann, Moorman is survived by daughter Patty Sims of Atlanta, sons Mike, of Princeton, N.J., and John, of Miami, sisters Marie Moorman and Jane Jung of St.Louis, and Adele Moorman of Dubuque, Iowa, brothers Joe, of Omaha, Neb. and Tom, of St. Louis.
A funeral was held.
The family welcomes memorial donations to the Epiphany Endowment, Rotary Foundation, or LakayMarie.org.
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