Ingvald Moe Obituary (1921 – 2022) – West Orange, NJ – The Star-Ledger – The Star-Ledger Obituaries

Ingvald Lawrence Moe, “Inky,” age 100, and a 72-year resident of 41 Crystal Avenue, West Orange, N.J., passed away peacefully on Friday, May 27, 2022, after a brief run-in with old age. Ingvald was born to Lars and Angelina Moe in Jersey City, N.J. on September 5, 1921. The family later moved to West Caldwell, N.J. where Ink grew up and attended school with his brother, Robert. He graduated from James Caldwell High School in 1939 while the country was in the Great Depression, and subsequently held several jobs, including gas station attendant and delivering coal. When World War II began, Ink tried to enlist in the Marine Corps, but was rejected due to color blindness. He made another attempt with the Army Air Corps with a similar outcome: Ink simply couldn’t tell the difference between red and green (he could drive without apparent difficulty since the red traffic light was always on top and green on the bottom). Inky tried overdosing on carrots and visiting eye specialists to no avail. Not one to give up and accept a color-blind fate while his country was at war, and with the Army in dire need of manpower, Ink finally found a match, and was inducted into the Army Signal Corps in 1942. After a short Army-sponsored electronics training course at Cornell University, he became an expert on radio frequency signals, navigation beacons, and communications, as well as early radars, both land-based and airborne, and early radar countermeasures. He served in the European Theater of Operations, advancing through France, Belgium, and Germany. Because of the technical skills of his unit, they were often selected to sweep through newly — and sometimes not quite — evacuated German bases to retrieve left behind advanced technologies, aircraft parts, jet or rocket fuels, and other engineering and scientific documentation. After the war ended, Ingvald was honorably discharged, and married his pre-war girlfriend, Dorothy Esther Banta of Bellville, N.J. on December 21, 1946. They initially resided in East Orange, N.J., where his first child, George, was born in 1948. Ink worked days and attended The Polytechnical Institute of Brooklyn at night. He eventually earned a Bachelor of Civil Engineering Degree in 1951, subsequently embarking on a 50+ year career primarily as a self-employed civil engineer. He designed the support structures for numerous large commercial, government and public buildings in the Essex, Union, Hudson, and Bergen County areas of New Jersey. Ingvald, Dorothy, and son, George, moved to 41 Crystal Avenue, West Orange in 1950, into a house he designed and built for his family. Ink’s second child, Patricia, was born that same year, and his third, Margaret, in 1953. He celebrated his 100th birthday in this home. Ink was never one to sit around and just enjoy leisure time. He was a tinkerer, quasi-inventor, and teacher. For example, he built a seismograph-like contraption, driven by a crystal radio with a 100-foot wire antenna to capture solar flare activity, and designed a prototype air lifting body to determine whether very low energy lift capacity was possible. In short, he was something of a science geek. On one hand, he helped his children develop and construct science experiments that were the coolest in school and on the other, taught them how to fish at 5 AM during summer breaks. But Ingvald’s real forte was his selflessness. He volunteered wherever and whenever there was a need. He worked with the Boy Scouts for years as an adult mentor. When Civil Defense became the watchword in the 1950’s, Ink volunteered and eventually became the Civil Defense Director for the Township of West Orange, N.J. He provided in-patient assistance at St. Barnabas Hospital in Livingston, N.J. with his wife Dorothy for more than 40 years and volunteered for regular duty as part of the West Orange First Aid Squad Ambulance Team. Since Ink had the rarest of blood types (AB neg), he donated whole blood as frequently as possible for nearly 50 years. He was recognized repeatedly as one of New Jersey’s leading blood donors by the American Red Cross. Ingvald is survived by his children, George Moe (Dolores), Patricia Moe, and Margaret Moe (Edward Kuell); grandchildren, Katherine Moe, Thomas Kuell (Lauren), and James Kuell (Morgan); and great-grandchildren, Talley Rae, Kennedy, and Whitley Kuell. He is predeceased by his wife of 72 years, Dorothy, his granddaughter Jamie, and his brother Robert. Ink said to the doctors right before passing, “I’ve taken good care of this body for more than 100 years. Now it’s your turn.” It didn’t work out, but he kept his sense of humor until the end. Ingvald Moe: devoted husband, exceptional father, and a very good man. A Celebration of Life for both Ingvald and Dorothy will take place at Shook-Farmer Funeral Home, 45 Roseland Ave., Roseland, NJ. Date and time to be announced. Shook-Farmer Funeral Home 45 Roseland Avenue Roseland, NJ 07068 (973) 226-1111

Published by The Star-Ledger from Jun. 1 to Jun. 5, 2022.