Standing at 6-foot-3, Duncan Moon had a presence that filled a room, whether it was the Arizona Public Media newsroom or his daughter's living room.
Moon, AZPM's former reporter, anchor and interim news director, died Wednesday morning at age 68.
He joined AZPM in January 2019 after decades in journalism as a reporter, producer, editor, bureau chief and newsroom manager. He retired in 2024.
Colleagues described Moon as a generous mentor who guided wide-eyed, early-career journalists with kindness and encouragement.
“He took the time to get to know his colleagues, to highlight their strengths and to foster an environment which supported the team’s mission for excellence in journalism,” said former AZPM reporter Summer Hom.
They also remember how often conversations turned to his granddaughter, Quinn.
"I will remember Duncan with admiration and gratitude for his leadership, his stellar work ethic, his vast experience, and his deep humanity," said Jack Gibson, AZPM's chief executive officer.
Moon is survived by his daughter, Abigail Moon Hand; his granddaughter, 8-year-old Quinn Makai Adventure Hand; his son-in-law, Matthew Quentin Hand; his brother, Nathaniel Moon; and his sister, Margaret Moon.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Helen Moon and Jacob Moon.
"He had real integrity – the man and the journalist were the same," Moon Hand said. "He investigated with genuine curiosity and cared deeply about the world, and it showed in everything he wrote."
“He was as good of a human as he was a reporter and editor,” said former AZPM reporter Zac Ziegler.
A friend beyond the newsroom
Arizona Spotlight host Mark McLemore said Moon approached journalism with empathy, curiosity and quiet wisdom.
McLemore previously reported to Moon while he served as interim news director, and the two remained close after Moon retired.
When McLemore was grieving the loss of a childhood friend, he said Moon gently asked whether there was anything left unsaid between them. Then he asked another question: If McLemore had never known that friend, how different would his life have been?
"It made me realize how complicated these questions could be for some people," McLemore said. "It made me grateful."
McLemore said it was Moon's wisdom and levelheadedness that helped more than anything.
‘Deep well of experience’
Moon's journalism career was almost exclusively in public media.
"I was on the committee that chose him out of a pool of applicants, and I think we were all astonished that a man with such a deep well of experience would come to work at our little station," said Steve Jess, afternoon anchor for AZPM News.
During a career spanning decades, Moon reported on some of the defining stories of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.
As a London-based correspondent for MonitoRadio, a Christian Science radio service, he covered the fall of the Berlin Wall and German reunification. He also reported on the first Bush-Gorbachev Summit, the Gulf War from Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait, and the Second Intifada and rise of Hamas from the West Bank and Gaza.
Throughout his career, he served as international news editor, Washington, D.C., bureau chief and managing editor at various outlets.
As a staff editor and religion correspondent for NPR, he covered President George W. Bush's efforts to have religious institutions provide social services; Islam in the United States following Sept. 11; the Roman Catholic sexual abuse scandal; and the final years and legacy of Pope John Paul II.
Former AZPM news director Christopher Conover said, “Duncan was a news guy who they don’t make anymore…If you got him talking about his adventures, all of the stories, if you listened, it came with some sort of lesson about how to do news.
Moon also spent seven winters in Alaska as news director and vice president of content production at the Alaska Public Radio Network.
He later served as managing editor of the Southern Education Desk, a CPB-funded Local Journalism Center comprising eight public radio and television stations across the Southeast.
While guiding the newsroom through the COVID-19 pandemic, former AZPM reporter Hannah Cree remembers Moon for his love of laughing and telling stories.
“It was a privilege to learn from Duncan Moon in the first few years of my reporting career. He always had encouraging words and thoughtful feedback on my work and made the newsroom a teaching environment,” she said.
Former AZPM reporter Alisa Reznick described Moon as the kind of news director who had your back first and asked questions after that.
“He was always ready to support you when it mattered most – whether responding to an aggressive email from a source, or sending out holiday cards when we were all stuck at home during COVID-19.”
“Duncan did not hesitate to use his institutional knowledge to help a budding reporter. He never made me feel too young or too inexperienced for the job. In a profession where toughness is often mistaken for good leadership, Duncan chose empathy. We need more leaders like him,” said former AZPM reporter Paola Rodriguez.
‘If it was for his family, he did it gladly’
Moon kept a framed photograph of his daughter and himself on his desk.
"I remember him holding my hand when I was little — he held my hand my whole life, really," she said.
Moon Hand remembers how her father comforted her after nightmares as a child. Years later, she remembers him holding Quinn for the first time after she gave birth.
"It's the little things I keep coming back to," Moon Hand said. "No matter the hour, he'd offer to drive me to the airport."
To his granddaughter Quinn, he was simply "Bampi."
He delighted in making her laugh, and her laughter delighted him in return, Moon Hand said.
Cancer shaped the family's later years. Moon Hand was diagnosed with endometrial stromal sarcoma in 2020.
In 2024, Moon's family learned he had multiple myeloma and renal cell carcinoma.
"He worked so hard to come back and to get strong," Moon Hand said.
He learned to walk again, and, by earlier this year, he was walking without a cane and taking Quinn to school every day.
"If it was for his family, he did it gladly," she said.
The renal cell carcinoma later spread to his lungs, she said.
Moon died in Las Vegas on Wednesday morning, July 1. His daughter, son-in-law and granddaughter were at his side.
Moon Hand said her father did not want a service; instead, he would have asked people to pay small acts of kindness forward – and vote.
Former colleagues reflect on Moon's legacy
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