Eugene Moody

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Lifelong Staten Islander Eugene M. Moody, 78, a retired city Sanitation worker, skilled cook, and a descendant of the original settlers of Sandy Ground, the first settlement of freed black slaves in the United States, died Tuesday in Staten Island University Hospital, Prince's Bay.

Mr. Moody had lived in the same house on Claypit Road since 1946. He was a descendant of Moses Harris, one of the original settlers of Sandy Ground, and grandson of the late William (Pop) Pedro.

As a preservationist and member of the Sandy Ground Historical Society, he fought for the landmarking of homes and buildings in the African-American community founded by freed slaves. He opposed encroaching development and the cutting down of trees in Sandy Ground, and fought against the continuous construction that overburdened the area.

Mr. Moody graduated from Tottenville High School, where he was a member of the school band.

He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1955 to 1960, stationed in Korea, and was a senior cook.

Mr. Moody had a 20-year career at the city Sanitation Department, assigned to Manhattan and Staten Island. He retired in the late 1980s. Prior to that, he was a cook at the former Willowbrook State School and also worked for a time at chemical plant on the Island.

He loved sports and coached a women's softball team that won three national championships between 1984 and 1990. He enjoyed playing golf and could often been seen improving his putting skills on the front lawn of his home.

Mr. Moody loved music and had mastered the trombone and saxophone.

He and his friends founded their own social group, "The Saturday Night Men's Club."

His love for and skill at cooking earned him the responsibility of preparing food at family gatherings, as well as for friends and visitors. He and his brother, Jerome, were the only two people who knew the recipe to making the renowned, secret barbecue sauce served at the annual Sandy Ground Festival.

In a June 24, 2010 Advance article about the festival, Mr. Moody would divulge about the recipe only that it had 13 ingredients and the key to its success was continuous basting.

He was devoted to family and friends and enjoyed planning Labor Day trips to visit his brother, Jerome, in West Virginia.

Mr. Moody's even-tempered personality and his calm smile always made others feel welcome, family said.

"Gene was just a good-hearted person who just loved his family and friends, and people who met him just fell in love with him; he was such a gentleman," said his sister, Olivia Moody.

"We are disheartened by his loss and saddened by his passing," said his cousin, Sylvia D'Alessandro, a 1998 Advance Woman of Achievement. "He had the one house you could go to without calling ahead. In addition, he supplied sauce for our festival and I am just happy the recipe for the sauce and the tradition of passing it down to men in the community has been followed, so that the sauce will still be available for all Staten Islanders to enjoyed at our annual festival."

Mr. Moody was a longtime member of Rossville A.M.E. Zion Church.

Surviving, along with his brother, Jerome, and his sister, Olivia, is his brother, Harold.

The funeral service will be Saturday at 11 a.m. in Rossville A.M.E. Zion Church. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. Arrangements are being handled by the Bedell-Pizzo Funeral Home, Tottenville.

Services: Rossville AME Zion Church Saturday, 03/12/2011 11:00AM

Visitation: Rosville AME Zion Church Friday, 03/11/2011 2-4 & 7-9PM

Cemetery: Rossville AME Zion ChurchCemetery

Church: Rossville AME Zion CHurch