Obituary for Joe Moffatt
Urban Joseph “Joe” Moffatt, age 91, of Ann Arbor, Michigan passed away Thursday, December 29, 2022.
He was born July 19, 1931, in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Urban J. and Marie V. (Delargey) Moffatt. Joe graduated with honors from De La Salle Collegiate High School in Detroit, and was awarded two scholarships to attend the University of Michigan. He supplemented the scholarships by working at Detroit Assembly Lines, building the Plymouth and Packard automobiles. He also worked at the Stroh Brewery Company.
After receiving a BS degree from the U of M College of Architecture and Design, he volunteered for the draft, serving in the United States Army Signal Corps in Augusta, Georgia and Sacramento, California. He received an honorable discharge after promotion to Specialist 2'd Class.
After military service, Joe applied for admission to the U of M Horace Rackham School of Graduate Studies, and, with the help of the GI Bill, earned an MA degree in radio and television production. In 1956, he joined the staff of the University of Michigan Television Center, and was soon promoted to Staging and Lighting supervisor. In 1967, he wrote a book for the Hub Electric Company of Chicago, entitled, "Hot Lights & Cameras," which proved to be a valuable hand-book for television lighting designers.
He retired from the U of M in 1997, after 40 years in television. During that time, he served as set designer and lighting director for thousands of television programs. (See YouTube, Joseph Moffatt, "Television at Michigan, Career Memories.") He began when television signals were recorded on kinescope film, and saw the advent of video tape, and later, color. In the latter part of his career, the TV Center, (then Michigan Media) became a teaching facility for the College of Literature, Science and the Arts, and Joe began a new phase: lecturing to television classes, and helping students, both graduates and undergraduates, bring their productions to life, from "page to stage."
Joe was a member of the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, and served as usher at the 12:30 Mass for forty years. He served as the U of M Retirees Association Newsletter photographer. Joe enjoyed vacationing on Chebeague Island, off the coast of Portland, Maine.
He is survived by his sister, Margaret Ann “Peggy” Whittington of Hays, Kansas, and his dearest and cherished longtime love, Judith Ann Warren of Ann Arbor, and by a niece, several nephews, and cousins.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in Joe's name to St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 2250 E. Stadium Blvd., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104.
He was born July 19, 1931, in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Urban J. and Marie V. (Delargey) Moffatt. Joe graduated with honors from De La Salle Collegiate High School in Detroit, and was awarded two scholarships to attend the University of Michigan. He supplemented the scholarships by working at Detroit Assembly Lines, building the Plymouth and Packard automobiles. He also worked at the Stroh Brewery Company.
After receiving a BS degree from the U of M College of Architecture and Design, he volunteered for the draft, serving in the United States Army Signal Corps in Augusta, Georgia and Sacramento, California. He received an honorable discharge after promotion to Specialist 2'd Class.
After military service, Joe applied for admission to the U of M Horace Rackham School of Graduate Studies, and, with the help of the GI Bill, earned an MA degree in radio and television production. In 1956, he joined the staff of the University of Michigan Television Center, and was soon promoted to Staging and Lighting supervisor. In 1967, he wrote a book for the Hub Electric Company of Chicago, entitled, "Hot Lights & Cameras," which proved to be a valuable hand-book for television lighting designers.
He retired from the U of M in 1997, after 40 years in television. During that time, he served as set designer and lighting director for thousands of television programs. (See YouTube, Joseph Moffatt, "Television at Michigan, Career Memories.") He began when television signals were recorded on kinescope film, and saw the advent of video tape, and later, color. In the latter part of his career, the TV Center, (then Michigan Media) became a teaching facility for the College of Literature, Science and the Arts, and Joe began a new phase: lecturing to television classes, and helping students, both graduates and undergraduates, bring their productions to life, from "page to stage."
Joe was a member of the St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, and served as usher at the 12:30 Mass for forty years. He served as the U of M Retirees Association Newsletter photographer. Joe enjoyed vacationing on Chebeague Island, off the coast of Portland, Maine.
He is survived by his sister, Margaret Ann “Peggy” Whittington of Hays, Kansas, and his dearest and cherished longtime love, Judith Ann Warren of Ann Arbor, and by a niece, several nephews, and cousins.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in Joe's name to St. Francis of Assisi Catholic Church, 2250 E. Stadium Blvd., Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104.