By Leslie Kelly
lkelly@soundpublishing.com
BREMERTON — June 29. It would have been her 85th birthday.
But instead, family and friends of H. Emily Moshay will gather at 6 p.m. at Evergreen Rotary Park to celebrate her life.
Moshay, 84, died June 14 at her home in Bremerton.
Known as a loyal supporter of Bremerton, Moshay had cancer and told her son and daughter she wanted to live out her life in her home on Park Avenue, and die with them at her side. And that’s just what happened.
“We are very proud of our mother,” said Mark Moshay, her son. “She left a legacy of good works behind for her fellow citizens, her friends and her family.
“We are so happy that she is now finally able to have the rest she so richly deserves.”
H. Emily, or just H., as she was often called, came to Bremerton in 1991 to be near her son and his family.
“She fell in love with Bremerton on her first visit in 1979,” her son said. Mark was in the Navy and was stationed at Naval Station Bremerton at the time.
In 1991, she moved to Bremerton, he said. Soon after arriving, she moved into the home she had purchased near Evergreen Park.
“She completely renovated the small one-bedroom home into a charming ‘castle,’ ” he said. “Her greatest joy was in the garden. She transformed a drab, dying yard into a thing of beauty. Even in her last months of life, she loved to work in her garden.”
But even though she was working on her home, she found time to get out and get to know the local residents. Soon she was involved in several groups promoting the city.
On her arrival, H. Emily went to work for the Women, Infants’ and Children program, and then Head Start.
“H. could never do anything half-way,” her son said. “She poured herself into helping children and families. She created her own newsletter to update parents each month.”
Later, she worked for the Bremerton Chamber of Commerce as a marketing representative, he said.
“As one of her friends commented, ‘They had finally hired a sales and marketing person who knew how to get the job done — get out there and talk to the business owners face to face, realizing we could not afford to close even for a few minutes. She single-handedly signed 107 new members her first year on the job.’ ”
H. Emily was also a public relations representative for The Bremerton Patriot from 2000 to 2008, helping promote the weekly paper, taking photographs and helping arrange client’s advertising.
H. Emily was born on June 29, 1931 in Childress, Texas.
In the early 1950s, she left Texas as a young woman and went out west to California where she married John S. Moshay and had her son, Mark, and daughter, Julia Michelle. Soon after their births, her husband passed away. In the ensuing years, she raised her kids as a single mother with very little extended family in the area. Despite her circumstances, she provided everything she could for her children.
“We were fortunate to have a mom who was never afraid to take on a challenge or beat the odds,” Mark said. “She would prove that many times in her life.”
Even in her mid-70s, she was a force to be reckoned with, he said. Throughout her years in Bremerton, she joined numerous causes and worked many hours as a volunteer and fund-raiser. Groups she worked with include Christmas in April, YWCA of Kitsap County, Main Street Association, Bremerton Foodline, St. Vincent dePaul, and others.
H. Emily developed a reputation as a tenacious advocate for others, her son said.
“One businessman said fondly, ‘When H. would come in and she had that look in her eye, you knew you were going to be donating to some worthy cause before the meeting was over,’” he recalled.
She was also an enthusiastic member of the Bremerton chapter of the Red Hat Ladies Society.
“She loved her Red Hat Ladies and her ladies loved her,” he said.
Daughter Julie said her mother did not live the life of a rich woman and kept track of every penny. But she still found ways to help others. She would go to Goodwill and buy coats and then donate them to Bremerton Foodline before winter.
Bremerton Mayor Patty Lent said H. Emily was a loyal friend to her and to the city.
“She really was everything that everyone mentions about her,” Lent said. “She was steadfast about the beautiful city she loved.”
Lent, a Republican, said H. Emily worked on all of her campaigns but supported politicians regardless of party affiliation.
“It didn’t matter if you were a Republican or Democrat, if you were supporting Bremerton, she would support you,” Lent said. “She rallied around the city’s leadership and the change-makers, no matter who they were.”
But Lent said H. Emily was more than a cheerleader.
“She wasn’t afraid to roll up her sleeves and do what needed doing,” Lent said. “She was at every ribbon cutting, every work party, every big event that happened in Bremerton for years and years. This was the city she loved.”
And, without fail, she would be dressed in something with leopard print.
“That was her identity,” she said. “You know, leopards are fast, sleek and witty, and she was just that. She had everything in a leopard print — scarves, shoes, purses. You never saw her without something leopard print.”
Longtime Bremerton resident Harriette Bryant recalled meeting H. Emily in 1992 at the WIC office.
“That was before everyone was required to call her H. Emily,” Bryant said. “We were WIC clerks together. She was the wind beneath my wings in getting my career in leadership started.”
Bryant said it was H. Emily who introduced her to the Community Resource Center, which was the social arm of the Emmanuel Apostolic Church she has attended for 18 years. H. Emily also introduced Bryant to the Kitsap YWCA and its director at the time, Linda K. Joyce. Joyce died in March 2015.
“H. Emily has kept up with my accomplishments from day one,” Bryant said. “And every time she saw me, she would give me a hug and a kiss and say how proud she was of me. I love her so much. I could not have done all of this without her encouragement.”
She credits H. Emily with encouraging her to be involved. Bryant has served on many local boards, including nonprofits and Olympic College Board of Trustees.
Neighbor Bill Hoke remembers H. Emily as a caring woman.
“I really got to know her over the back fence as we both shared a dislike of weeds and moss,” Hoke said. “And, I admit to a little gossiping too.”
He spoke for himself and his wife, Patty Graf-Hoke, recalling that in 2000, Moshay was on the Bremerton Community Development Block Grant approval committee and when Alan Newberg brought the Washington CASH micro business start-up program idea to the committee, it made an instant impression on her and she pushed for the first funding.
“And she remained a champion of the program,” he said. “Classes were held across the street from her home, at KCR (Kitsap Community Resources Center) and I would give her frequent updates and share the client successes.”
He said, “Please add this to the long list of contributions H. made. There are, literally, hundreds of small businesses going today because she just knew this was a good idea for Bremerton.”
He also mentioned her “campaign” at the Patriot.
“Let’s not forget her ‘Positively Bremerton’ promotion she championed at the Patriot,” he said.
Hoke said H.’s daughter told him not to bring flowers in the weeks before she passed.
“Flowers wilt and that makes H. sad,” he quoted her daughter saying. “There’s a poem in that.”
Jim Martin, a longtime friend, said he and H. Emily shared a mutual respect for each other and for what they’d accomplished at the Bremerton Chamber of Commerce.
“Everything she put her mind to, she accomplished,” he said. “It didn’t matter what group or organization needed help, if she could lend a hand, she would.”
Martin said he knows she’s now in a better place. “And she’s probably getting things straightened out up there,” he joked.
H. Emily is survived by her son, Mark (Jeanne); daughter, Julie (Robert); grandchildren, Shannon, Stephen, Shaun; and great-grandchildren, Cameron, Aavin and Ella.
“We were the jewels in her crown,” Mark said.
In lieu of flowers, send donations in her name to Bremerton Foodline, 1600 12th St., Bremerton, WA 98337.
