Dr. William F. Moore Jr., a pediatrician who often visited his patients in their homes and treated children of struggling families without charge, died Aug. 14 at his son's home in Haleiwa. He was 84.

“;He had cancer for 17 years but kept a really good attitude, looking to serve others,”; said his son, Richard. “;He was cheerful and laughing to the very end.”;

Dr. Stephen Chinn, chief of urology at Straub Clinic and Hospital, said Moore “;took care of patients more as family than as just patients. He was really one of the old generation gentleman physicians that you don't see nowadays.”;

Moore joined Straub in 1955 and practiced there and served as chief of pediatrics until opening Kahala Pediatrics in 1979.

“;He will be well remembered,”; said Dr. George Ewing, who worked with Moore in Straub's pediatrics department. “;He was a very fine clinician, a good pediatrician and just a good doctor.”;

“;Dr. Moore was the best doctor anyone could ever have,”; said Jane Tan of Makiki. Her daughter, Jodie, had leukemia at age 3 and “;he sat with me until midnight one night because I was such a nervous wreck,”; Tan said. “;He was there for me, no matter what.”;

Jodie Tan, 38, said, “;Dr. Moore was all heart and good-natured.”; He was a dedicated, passionate doctor, “;loving his job each and every day,”; she said. “;I will miss him a lot.”;

Richard Moore said he has met many doctors “;who said they are doctors now because he was their doctor—children who became doctors because he inspired them.”;

His father was born in Lakeland, Fla., in 1924 and graduated from Columbia High School at age 16, youngest in the school's history. He was a pre-med student at the University of Florida and Emory University in the U.S. Navy's V-12 college training program. In World War II, he was stationed for a year at the Navy Hospital in Charleston.

He earned his medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia in 1949 and interned at Ancker Hospital in St. Paul, Minn. Then he re-enlisted in the U.S. Navy Reserve medical corps and was assigned to a Military Sea Transport Service in Seattle as medical officer on a ship that participated in the Inchon, Korea, amphibious landing and Hungnam troop evacuation.

Leaving the Reserve in 1952, Moore began pediatric residency at Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, Ore.

He served as chief of pediatrics at the Children's Hospital during his career, was president of the Honolulu Pediatric Society and Honolulu County Medical Society, assistant professor of pediatrics at the John A. Burns School of Medicine and president of the Western Conference of Prepaid Medical Service Organizations.

One of his proudest accomplishments was helping to bring polio vaccine to Hawaii, his son Andrew said in an e-mail.

He said his father was a member or served on the board of many civic organizations, including the Rotary Club and Elks.

“;He was an active, adventurous and devoted family man with many hobbies, including traveling, diving, saltwater aquariums, hiking, horseback riding and skiing. He loved music and his strong baritone was heard for many years in the Sounds of Aloha Barbershop Chorus.”;

He retired in 2002 and moved to Kona. Last year, he moved to Haleiwa to live with son Richard and family.

Richard said he and his father were working on raising funds for Surfing The Nations, a humanitarian organization that trains and mobilizes youth to serve their communities. “;He had always told me you need to leave the world a better place. That's what he was trying to do.”;

Besides Richard and Andrew, of Napa, Calif., survivors include son James of Spring Creek, Nev.; daughters Maile Forbert of Vallejo, Calif., and Sara Moore of Kona; brothers James of Harrison, Idaho, and Craig of Haymarket, Va.; sister Sara Moore of Sacramento, Calif.; 14 grandchildren; and one great-grandson.

A celebration of life will be held Sept. 4 at Hosoi Garden Mortuary, 30 N. Kukui St., with viewing at 10 a.m. and a service at 11 a.m. Burial with military honors will be at 2 p.m. at Hawaiian Memorial Park, Kaneohe. Casual or aloha attire. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to Surfing The Nations, P.O. Box 29393, Honolulu, HI 96820.