Dr. J.G. Moore, 86; Headed Obstetrics Department at UCLA Medical School

Dr. J.G. Moore, a former professor and chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at UCLA, has died. He was 86.

Moore died Oct. 30 of prostate cancer, said his daughter, Barbara Moore.

According to UCLA’s press office, Moore was one of the first researchers to recognize the usefulness of growing cancer cells in culture to study the effects of various drugs on cancer growth.

“Dr. Moore was a remarkably dedicated physician who was greatly respected by all of his colleagues,” said Dr. Joseph Gambone, professor emeritus in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. “He was a favorite among patients because of his devotion to providing excellent care, his insistence upon attention to every detail and, most of all, his warmth.”

Moore’s daughter said that her father fought prostate cancer for 12 years, and that “being who he was allowed him to volunteer his body for numerous never-before-tried-on-live-humans drug protocol tests.”

She added, “And he never wanted to stop teaching, so he donated his body to UCLA’s willed body program as his last gift to humanity.”

Moore joined the UCLA medical school in 1951, leaving in 1965 to become chairman of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. In 1968, he became chairman of UCLA medical school’s department of obstetrics and gynecology, where he remained for 20 years. From 1988 to 1994, he was chief of gynecology at the Veterans Administration hospital in Sepulveda.

Moore also was co-editor with Dr. Neville F. Hacker of “Essentials of Obstetrics and Gynecology,” a textbook going into its fourth edition. At various times, he served as president of the Society for Gynecologic Investigations, the Assn. of Professors of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology.

Moore was born in Berkeley and received his degrees from UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco Medical School. During World War II, he served in the Army Medical Corps in Europe, rising to major before being discharged in 1946. He was awarded the Silver Star, Bronze Star and Purple Heart.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Mary Louise; three children, Barbara, Terry and Bruce; and three grandchildren.

Celebrations of his life will be held at 2 p.m. Friday at the Jules Stein Eye Institute at UCLA, and at 2 p.m. Saturday at 31804 Seafield Drive, Malibu.

The family asked that remembrances be made to the J.G. Moore Memorial Research Fund at the David Geffen School of Medicine.