George Harrison Moody, Jr

• George Harrison Moody
• 1907-1973
• Grossman and Moody
• The Honolulu Advertiser
• July 15, 1969

George Moody, co-founder of Grossman -Moody is liquidating his stock, thus ending an era of distinguished service to kamaainas. Gross-Moody Ltd., a uniquely Island firm that left its mark of quality on some of Hawaii’s finest homes over the past three decades are closing, thus ending an era of distinguished person-to-person service. The firm’s well-known cofounder and entrepreneur George Moody said pensively, “We could close up next month or maybe six months. All I can say is that we are liquidating our stock and it is only a matter of time before of time before we’re though.” From the day George Moody set foot in the Islands in 1927, he has won the respect and admiration of countless kamaainas with his exuberant flair for people, design, and décor

One friend says of George, “Working at top speed, with top, with prodigious versatility, it has been his joy and his business to put into the hands of Island people more custom-designed Pacifica jewelry, objects of art, and home furnishings in a wider range of decorative media than any other single artist, entrepreneur. Such a reputation currently is impossible to maintain with the shortage of labor and quality workmanship, Moody said.

He came from San Antonio, Texas, born with a sense of creativity. He loves to tell his friends, “I never graduated from anything, but my grandchildren graduate from something every year.” Yet he runs a flourishing business he opened in the mid-’30s in downtown Honolulu at the corner of King and Alaskea, with the late Edward Grossman, later moving to Waikiki, but no matter the location he lived up to his philosophy of making effective use of the good things in life. “People love good things,” George says positively, “They want something that is becoming to themselves of their homes. You don’t just sell to people. Instead, you find out what is in the back of their minds, then create something for them.” At the same time, George kept in mid materials at hand and the influence of Hawaii’s environment, thus creating a newer, lighter, consciously styled Island look for his friends. Before George Moody came to Hawaii people owned many pieced of handsome furniture which may have been handed down from earlier generations or imported from the Orient. Few of them were able to make artistic use of what they had until they encountered George. It wasn’t unusual for a hostess to ask his opinion, before she knew it, George turned it from a drab piece of furniture into an attractive, functional work of art.

“I remember a lot of Grand Rapids dining sets made of Koa,” he recalled of the early years. “Varnished” he added with distaste, but it was George’s style to design furnishings of unvarnished bleached Koa and Philippine Mahogany which he combined with and woven fabrics to give them a real dash of simple elegance. Moody Originals are endless, He designed unadorned Koa Service Plates, then for sheer elegance set them on large silver plates. In large silver plated he etched Hawaiian leaves, flowers, and fruit then carried out the same designs in serving pieces. He went on to Design wood bowls and trays in Hawaiian leaf design that was the forefront of today’s commercial wood products.

As George talked about his work in his store, now high atop the Bank of Hawaii in Waikiki the other day, it appeared that his stock may be diminishing, but he will never stop creating. “There are two kinds of people in this world, “he said, “Those who create and those who absorb, it’s what you do with what’s in front of you that matters. If you want to release your energies, you create. If I can’t create, I’m dead.

In the past he tripped from Island to Island, designing old Ranch and Plantation Homes to his touch of beauty, He also created handsome jewelry, as well, and in the same imaginative manner tuned outdated heirlooms into glamorous, functional pieces for his delighted customers. George is known throughout the world as a Pacific designer and says the bulk of his work was adapted from Eastern and Oceanic Cultures. He was also a nationally recognized appraiser of Jewelry, antiques, and furnishings. He was equally adept at buying and selling horses and cattle, which he and his wife Harriet Moody (Rice) raised on Kauai.

• Horary member of the Garden Club of Honolulu- he contributed design tables for many projects.
• Metropolitan Opera. Committee Member
• Red Cross Disaster Committee
• The Labor and Industrial Relations Board
• Governors Emergency Housing Committee
• Honolulu Academy of Arts, Trustee

https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36781188/george-harrison-moody-july...

Biography

George Harrison Moody, Jr was born on December 24, 1907, in San Antonio, Bexar, Texas, USA. His parents were George Harrison Moody, MD and Bebe Denman.

George married Harriet Elizabeth Moody. Together they had the following children:

1. Bebe Elizabeth Sumner (Moody).

He died on June 8, 1973, and was buried in Honolulu, Honolulu County, Hawaii, USA.

The George Harrison Moody Home [https://www.newspapers.com/image/259258459/?terms=Bebe%2BMoody&_ga=...]

[https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36781188/george-harrison-moody-july...] 15 Jul 1969

Honolulu, Hawaii

"If I'm not creating something, I'm dead"

• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Oct 8 2019, 9:07:20 UTC
• Reference: Ancestry Genealogy - SmartCopy: Oct 8 2019, 9:14:10 UTC