Alfred Ernest Moreau

Alfred Ernest Moreau passed from this life on April 29, 2020 at the age of 68 after his health declined from the effects of a progressive and incurable neurodegenerative disease diagnosed in 2011. He was at home surrounded by his wife and children. Named for his paternal and maternal grandfathers, and most often called Fred, he was born August 14, 1951, in Kearney, Nebraska. He was the first son, and middle child, of Antoni and Dorene (Peterson) Moreau. He grew up with an older sister, Colleen Nieman (Jim) and a younger brother, Roland (Barbara). Fred graduated from St. James and Kearney Catholic High schools, and was active in Church activities, from service as an altar boy to joining the Knights of Columbus. The family enjoyed periodic car trips back to visit Antoni Moreau’s family in Vermont, and hosted exchange students. Throughout high school, and college, and even on law school vacations home as his schedule allowed, he also worked part-time at the Unimart - an experience he always credited with giving him great insights about lots of things in life. (And for a non-cook, he was always exceptionally knowledgeable about every spice, condiment, and recipe and chef’s ingredient, and open to trying any cuisine.)

He continued to live at home while attending Kearney State College (now the University of Nebraska at Kearney). There, he wrote a sports column for his college paper, and was an honored member of the debate team, with whom he traveled extensively in competitions throughout the Midwest. He graduated with honors (B.S. Economics) in Spring 1973. Thereafter, he entered law school at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN, earning a J.D. degree and admission to the Nebraska bar in 1976. In 1989 he completed the residential Defense Department/Harvard University Kennedy School of Government program as well.

Alfred began his professional legal career as a civilian attorney with the Army Materiel Command’s Armament Materiel Readiness Command at Rock Island, IL in Spring 1976. He worked on a broad range of legal issues, and complex cases including serving as counsel for accident investigation teams for government-owned contractor-operated ammunition plant explosions. He moved to the Washington, D.C. area in 1981 to serve as counsel for the Army’s Night Vision and Electro-Optics Lab at Ft. Belvoir, VA. The cutting edge research and development work there refined technologies with applications used today in many civilian as well as military contexts. In 1988 he accepted a senior civilian career attorney position with the Army Office of the Judge Advocate General (JAG) continuing to specialize in government contracts issues. His office team was in the Pentagon, until it was moved to leased space in Rosslyn for the Pentagon renovations; the spaces his office had occupied were directly where the plane crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11. Alfred continued to expand his expertise on contractor-operated facilities contract issues, and was the Army’s Contract Law Labor Advisor as well as vice chair of the American Bar Association Labor Law Committee. He was a frequent guest instructor at the Army JAG School at Charlottesville, VA and ABA conventions and activities. He also specialized as counsel for oversight review for the most highly classified Army contracts, and highest visibility contract issues, including the Arlington Cemetery records computerization (who was buried where?) investigation. He remained with the Army HQ JAG office until his retirement after 35 years of federal service in 2011.

In 1982, Alfred married Elaine Eder, his wife for the remaining 37 years of his life. They met in 1977 when she started working at a different division of the same Army legal office in Rock Island, IL where he was employed. Initially colleagues, they became carpool partners, and eventually best friends. Fred’s family was always his greatest joy, and he and Elaine had three children. All three [Elizabeth Eder-Moreau (married to Cesar Oyarzun), Andrew Eder-Moreau and Eileen Eder-Moreau Freeman (married to Thad Freeman)] grew up in Northern Virginia, principally in Arlington. He was an active and involved parent, chairing school committees in Arlington and attending all school programs and performances from preschool parties through college football bowl game road trips – where he’d watch the marching bands his daughters were in as much or more than the games. Fred’s lifelong avocations included active fan participation for spectator sports like ND college football, Phillies and then Nationals baseball when Washington got a team again,and Caps hockey. Highlights of his fan experiences included attending a Phillies World Series game, and touching the Stanley Cup on two separate occasions. He was also an aficionado of Gershwin, Broadway musicals, Tony Bennett, Chris Botti, and jazz and theatrical performances, and enjoyed dance and art exhibits of all kinds. He shared all those interests variously in special ways with each of his children as and after they grew up, and treasured the unique experiences, from interactive soccer coaching to trips to dance recital attendance – as well as shared spectator attendance with them at sporting and arts and theatre events of all kinds.

Travel was a particular pleasure and avocation for Fred. Especially after the children were grown (with a few personal vacation visits to Disney World and Disneyland, the Grand Canyon, Yosemite National Park, a cruise from Buenos Aires to Valdivia going around Cape Horn, and NE and VT before then) he enjoyed business travel which included conferences, presentations, and meetings at Army facilities throughout the US and Europe. After retiring in 2011 Alfred travelled extensively with his wife, and adult children, as their schedules allowed. Those travels included: numerous visits to his hometown of Kearney, NE, and his father’s hometown, Swanton, VT, to Elaine’s hometown of Chicago, IL, and to visit daughter Liz in Santiago, Chile and Philadelphia when she was living there. There were also many air and land, sea and train trips. Visited places included: East Coast beaches like Atlantic Beach NC and Pompano Beach FL; Alaska coastal and inland destinations, and Vancouver; Chile (including Santiago, with week-long visits to Valdivia, Valparaiso, and San Pedro de Atacama); a China trip visiting Shanghai, Beijing, the Terra Cotta Warriors, Great Wall, Yangtze River cruise and visit to Three Gorges Dam, and (literally breathtaking) Tibet; a three month trip to Europe that included five cruise components (St. Petersburg to Moscow, week in Prague, train to Budapest, cruise across Europe through Hungary, Austria, Germany, and the Netherlands, week in Amsterdam, cruise from Rotterdam through Scotland and Norway, 10 days in Malaga/Gibraltar, month long cruise from Barcelona to Venice and back, visiting Turkey, Greece, France and Italy, and a final week in Barcelona); Miami, FL to cheer on Notre Dame at the final Bowl Championship Series Game, Notre Dame against Alabama; transiting the Panama Canal from Miami to San Diego, stopping at Aruba, Bonaire and Curacao on the east and Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras and Mexican ports on the west; Winnipeg and Manitoba for some great hockey, and up-close polar bear watching in Churchill; Hawaii for a cruise to “research” which Hawaiian islands to visit longer term; travels to NYC to hear a favorite artist in residence at The Blue Note, Chris Botti (and enjoy a “drop in” performance by Sting); travels to SE Asia, including Mekong River cruises in Viet Nam and Cambodia, visits to Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Siam Reap, and road trip through Bangkok and eastern Thailand and Chiang Mai, to Laos, including Prabang Luang and Vientiane, and back to Hanoi, with a side trip to Halong Bay; Australia and New Zealand, including 59 day circumnavigation cruise from Long Beach to Sydney with port calls enroute including the Hawaiian Islands, and an island-hopping adventure through the South Pacific from Fiji thru Vanuatu at Mystery Island to port calls at New Caledonia and Komodo Island, then to Sydney, and north completely around Australia back to Sydney, and an inland adventure on the Ghan Train trip to Uluru (Ayer’s Rock) and the outback, a two week cruise around New Zealand, and long weekend at the beach at Waikiki on the trip home; a visit back to San Francisco and inland to Angels Camp; a summertime trip to Tanglewood and the Berkshires (coincidentally timed to attend a performance of the Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga tour); and a birthday trip to Kauai and Waikiki. At about that time Fred also began enjoying non-travel part-time day program activities. His travel adventures concluded with a trip to Las Vegas and a cruise visit to Cuba in 2016, the Total Eclipse (of the Heart) eclipse viewing cruise in 2017, and the July 2018 “Caregiver Cruise” with friends and caregivers from Insight to visit Boston and the Maritimes.

Through wonderful friendships and support from Sibley Hospital’s Club Memory activities in Washington, DC, and Memory Café 4 U in Vienna, VA, which they started attending in 2013, Fred and Elaine moved toward less travel and more supported activities and care as Fred’s illness progressed. Fred particularly enjoyed the “Conversations” music performance and art discussion programs at D.C.’s Kreeger Museum, and art and other activities with the day program at the Iona Wellness and Art Center in Washington, D.C. As things progressed and changed, Fred was best, and wonderfully, engaged as a participant at the Fairfax, VA Insight Memory Care Center day program activities. With significant help from his son, who relocated to Arlington in September 2019, Fred was able to continue to reside at home, participating at Insight until its directed temporary closure in connection with the pandemic outbreak in mid-March 2020. Hospice support was started at about that time, and Fred was doing well at home waiting to resume activities - until late April. He developed a seemingly minor infection, and even with antibiotic treatment his health declined very very quickly thereafter. He departed our physical world on April 29, 2020 but will always be in our memories and hearts.

Due to the pandemic, services and interment of ashes, as well as a Celebration of Life, will be planned after restrictions are lifted. Details will be provided here.