Gordon McCool Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

Gordon McCool, 75, of Gilmer, passed away on March 18, 2019. He was born, October 26, 1943, to A. L. McCool and Jean Williamson McCool, in Durant, Oklahoma. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at 11:00 am, Friday, March 22, 2019, at Rosewood Baptist Church, with Bro. Charles Johnson officiating. Visitation will be held 6:00 until 8:00 pm, Thursday, March 21, 2019, at McWhorter Funeral Home. Gordon was a 1961 graduate of Harmony High School who went on to obtain an Associates’ Degree in Engineering from Kilgore College in 1963, a Bachelors’ Degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1966 and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Houston in 1971. In the late 1960s, Gordon worked for a NASA contractor in Houston on the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle that taught the Apollo 11 astronauts how to operate spacecraft for the final descent in the historic 1969 moon landing. Gordon practiced civil litigation and general law in Houston and then in Gilmer, serving as the President of the Upshur County Bar Association for many years. Together with his brother Al, he operated McCool’s Farm & Cattle, the family dairy farm at Rosewood started by his father A.L. in the 1950s. Throughout his career, Gordon served in a number of corporate board membership positions for numerous milk marketing organizations including Borden Cheese, AMPI (American Milk Producers Inc.) and Dairy Farmers of America. A lifelong sports fan, Gordon’s favorite teams included the Dallas Cowboys, the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers and the Texas Longhorns. A constant learner, he avidly read action and mystery novels, newspapers and legal journals. He had an extraordinary sense of humor and a warm and generous heart. Gordon is survived by his wife of 52 years, Sharon Planto McCool, his mother Jean McCool, his brothers Tracy and Al, his sister-in-law Susan, his daughter Melanie, his son-in-law Paul Dugan, and grandchildren Kaitlynn, Kameron, Kaleb, Nash and Zane Dugan. Donations may be made to The Leukemia Lymphoma Society, www.lls.org, in memory of Gordon McCool. Please visit Gordon’s on-line registration book at www.mcwhorterfh.com to leave a memory for the family.

Gordon McCool

October 26, 1943 - March 18, 2019