Always chasing next challenge

LITTLE ROCK — Even after years of successful business ventures, Guy Woodson Moseley never lost his desire for the next challenge.

“He had a real zest for life,” his daughter Susie Farris said. “He said, ‘I’ve never figured out what I wanted to do when I grow up.’ ... He was saying that after he was in his 90s.”

Moseley died Sunday at his Batesville home from cancer. He was 91.

After attending Hendrix College in Conway for almost four years, Moseley enrolled in midshipman school in New York City.

In the U.S. Navy, Moseley was a top watch officer and g u nnery off i ce r aboard a ship in the North Atlantic, looking out for enemy planes and ships during World War II.

Once the Germans surrendered, Moseley “was not finished fighting,” and volunteered to transfer to the Pacific Theater, said his daughter, Mary Ann Critz. He was aboard one of the first ships to approach Japan after the atomic bombs were dropped.

“He said it was total devastation,” Farris said. “He never talked a lot about his military time. It was a horrible, horrible sight.”

In 1946, he married and soon began his life in business by co-owning Moseley Hardware and Furniture Company in Forrest City.

The family moved to Batesville and in 1953, Moseley opened the Van-Atkins Department store, eventually opening four more. For decades, Moseley spearheaded about 65 business projects, including restaurants, hotels and banks.

“He was a charmer, but, like most businessmen, he could have a tough side,” Farris said.

Moseley often described his ventures as “some good, some so-so, some simply awful,” Farris said.

“He was extremely positive to the point where we’d say, ‘Please, Daddy, this did not work out well,’” Farris said. “He’d say, ‘It’s OK.’ ... He did not stay down long at all.”

Moseley served in various civic positions, including president of the Batesville Chamber of Commerce. He created a business legacy that exists today, which included developing and building the Town Plaza Shopping Center in Batesville.

“He really believed in giving to the community,” Farris said.

Aside from business, Moseley enjoyed helping others. Even in recent years, friends could always expect a freshly baked banana cake or pound cake, hand-delivered to their homes, his daughter said.

To M o s e l e y, presentation was everything, Farris said. “He’d wrap them [the cakes] in brown paper and tie them with a certain twine we’d purchase for him and deliver them, and that gave him a lot of joy.”

Moseley had fun closing a business deal, but his greatest memories were with his family and friends, floating down the White River in one of his “Happy Days” boats, playing tennis and traveling throughout Europe with his wife.

“They enjoyed staying in nice hotels and walking the streets and talking to the local people,” Farris said. “They’d pull into their driveway [in Batesville] and say, ‘Where next?’”

With his tenor voice, Moseley enjoyed singing in the church choir and teaching his daughters harmony with songs like “You Are My Sunshine,” which they sang to him a few days before his death, Farris said.

“We had a lot of family mottos and one of the things he always said up until his dying day was ‘We’re all in this together,’” Farris said. “We’re all supportive of each other.”

Even on his deathbed, Moseley continued to be “forever a jokester,” his family said.

“We were all gathered around and he said, ‘I’m ready to go, is that OK with you all?’” and the family agreed, as he laid back down, Farris said. “We’re staring at him and after a few minutes, he said, ‘I just can’t find the key to get out of here.’”