Tyree Moody

Tyree H. Moody, 77 years old of Niles, Michigan went to be with the Lord, Tuesday September 24, 2013, at home surrounded by his family, following an illness.

He was born on March 6, 1936 in Trenton, Tennessee to Alvin and Kathrine (Brown) Moody. He has lived in Niles since 1956, moving to the area with his wife, the former Annie LaFaye “Faye” McAlister, just two weeks after their wedding in Corinth, Mississippi. Tyree was employed by the former Tyler Refrigeration for forty-three years, before retiring in 2000. In 1968, he began working as a reserve officer for the Buchanan Police Department and the Berrien County Sheriff Department, and was a member of the National Guard in both Tennessee and Michigan. Tyree was Constable of the First Ward for 2 terms in the city of Niles. He also owned the former Standard Service Station at Fulkerson & Eleventh Streets, worked as a security guard at the Niles Library, and he had a gun and snow plowing business.

Tyree had been a member of Bethel Baptist Church in Niles since 1956. He was also very active in Freemasonry as a member of the Saint Joseph Valley Lodge #4, F.& A.M., the 32ndº Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite Valley of South Bend, the Saladin Temple of Grand Rapids, President of the Niles Shrine Club and member of the South Bend Shrine Club, and a member of the Orak Temple Shrine Center of Michigan City. He joined the Masons in 1967, and became a Shriner and Scottish Rites in 1977. Tyree became a lifetime member of the Blue Lodge of the Saint Joseph Valley #4 in 1976. He was a 32nd° Mason of the Valley of South Bend Scottish Rite. He was a member of the Saladin Temple in Grand Rapids. In 2012, he was Mason of the year. He was the current President of the Niles Shrine Club, and a member of the Orak Temple, and of the South Bend Shrine Club. Tyree was a part of the transport team from Niles and South Bend Shrine Clubs that drove children to the Shriner’s Hospital and the Burn Centers, and he enjoyed performing with the Berrien County Shriners’ mini bikes parade team.

He enjoyed hunting and fishing and was a member of the Bend of the River Conservation Club.

In addition to his wife, Faye, surviving family includes his daughters Carol (& Chris) King and Jodie (& Trent) Nichols, all of Niles; grandchildren Angie (& Toby) Mann, Amy (& Andy) Chodzinski, Autumn and Amber Moody; and great-grandchildren Blake and Kyle Mann; brother Acie (& Pat) Moody, sister Hazel Farley, sister Gladys (& William) Gordon, and sister-in-law Wanda Hall, all of Tennessee.
Tyree was preceded in death by James Moody, Geneva Hassel, John Moody, Archie Moody, Marie Runyan, Norman Moody, Ruby Moody, and Mary Ann Moody.

Funeral Services for Tyree Moody will be held at 2:00p.m. on Friday, September 27, 2013 at Bethel Baptist Church in Niles with Rev. Randy Pearman of the church, and Pastor Garland Rhodes of Portage Road General Baptist Church, officiating. Interment will follow at Silverbrook Cemetery, Niles.

The family will receive relatives and friends from 4-8:00p.m. on Thursday, September 26, 2013 at the Halbritter Funeral Home and will conclude with the Masonic Funeral Rites beginning at 8:00p.m. by the Saint Joseph Valley Lodge #4, F. & A.M.

Contributions in memory of Tyree may be made to Bethel Baptist Church in Niles or to the Shriners Hospitals for Children.