Dennis Moore, associate vice president for public affairs and communication at the University, died Wednesday morning after a year-long battle with prostate cancer.
Moore was 55 and died at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York, where he was receiving treatment. He had been on medical leave for most of this semester.
"We had been dreading the worst for a few weeks. The way things developed in the last day or so was a little surprising," said Dennis Brown, associate director of public relations and information.
Moore graduated from Notre Dame in 1970 and returned in 1988 to join the public relations staff, where he held the positions of assistant director, associate director and director of public relations. In 2002, he was promoted to his current position as associate vice president. While a student, Moore was on the founding staff of The Observer.
"Denny was an incredibly good person with a strong faith and was impressively loyal to the University," said Kerry Temple, editor of Notre Dame Magazine, who worked with Moore for the last 15 years.
From 1990 to 2002, Moore served as director of public relations and was the University's principal spokesman and media relations officer.
"One of the things that impressed me most was that, as a spokesman for the University, Denny was the front man for policies, decisions and situations that were controversial, provocative and unpopular," Temple said. "He always did his job articulately and very loyally, and he always did it with the University's interest at heart."
Before returning to Notre Dame, Moore served on the editorial staff of The Kiwanis Magazine, was a senior staff writer for Consumers Power Company in Jackson, Mich., and worked as a freelance writer, editor and consultant in the United States and Ireland.
Moore is survived by his wife, Doreen, and three grown children, Erin, Brendan and Colleen, who is an assistant rector in Pasquerilla East Hall.
Brown said that University President Father Edward Malloy celebrated a memorial Mass for Moore for close associates, friends and colleagues in the Main Building Wednesday morning and that funeral arrangements are pending.
"He will be remembered equally for his integrity, compassion and genuine concern for others," Malloy said in a statement. "In his word and deed, he lived his life as a faithful servant of God - giving of his time to the poor in our community, lending an encouraging word to the discouraged, inspiring all with whom he interacted."
