Max Moody, Sr.

Maxey Dell Moody was born on December 12, 1883, in Ocala, Florida, to Eliza and Slomon Moody. His father, Dr. Slomon W. Moody (1838–1898), was born in Sumter County, South Carolina, to the Moody family whom were plantation owners. Dr. Moody's parents are relatively unknown and may be either a Slomon Moody or Jesse Moody. Maxey's mother Eliza Moody (née Pearson, 1847–1918) was born in Orange Springs, Florida, to Confederate Captain John William Pearson and Sarah Pearson.

Maxey has many siblings and half-siblings due to Slomon's previous marriages. Dr. Slomon became a physician in Marion County for over 30 years until he died on March 20, 1898, at the age of 64 when Maxey was 14. In 1901 Maxey contracted typhoid fever but recovered. Maxey worked at a local drug store until moving to Jacksonville in 1901. In Jacksonville Maxey worked as a traveling salesman and then for Lancaster Automatic Railroad Crossing selling stock in Jacksonville, Ocala, Tampa and Cuba. In 1912 he became a salesman of tobacco.

On April 14, 1909 Max married Ethel Muller at the Church of the Immaculate Conception. Maxey and Ethel were going to Washington, D.C. for their honeymoon but changed it to Tampa due to his mother's illness. They had four children: Dolores "Didi" Dux (1910-2000), Maxey Dell Moody, Jr. (1913-1987), Muller Moody (1917-1976), Ethel "Jean" Butler (1930-2001).

M. D. Moody

In 1915 Moody decided to give up his career in the drug business in favor of the road building industry. For three years he worked as a road grader salesman for J. D. Adams & Company where his initials M.D. gave him the nickname Mule Driver because of his skill in driving mules through demonstrations in road graders. In 1913 Moody decided to establish a road construction company called M. D. Moody in the LaVilla area of Jacksonville to serve the needs of the road building equipment industry. M. D. Moody was initially affiliated with the Cyclone Fence Company until the 1920s. Moody held multiple positions at M. D. Moody as salesman, parts manager and serviceman.

On April 23, 1918, his mother Eliza died. In that same year, the events of World War I in Europe forced Max to register for the draft on September 9, 1918 due to the Selective Service Act of 1916 but he was never sent overseas as the war ended one month later. In 1919 Maxey was a passenger in a bad car accident when his friend, who was driving the car, turned over and was killed. On June 10, 1920 Maxey joined the Ancient Arabic Order of the Nobles of the Mystic Shrine and Scottish Rite at the Morocco Temple in Jacksonville. His business received numerous awards for his contributions to the Shriners.

During the 1920s M. D. Moody entered the marine equipment business by manufacturing their own marine engines and then with the Waukesha Engine dealership. During World War II the business supplied construction equipment needed for the expansion of military bases in Florida. In 1942 M. D. Moody became the sole distributor of the American Hoist & Derrick Company (American Crane and now part of Terex) in Florida.