Tom Gordon

Tom Gordon of Abilene, Texas, died Monday, June 28, 2010. He was 97 years old. Mr. Gordon was born in Palestine, Texas. He graduated from Palestine High School and continued his undergraduate and law school education at the University of Texas, Austin. While attending law school, he served as a legal investigator for the Attorney General's office under the administration of William McCraw, Attorney General for the State of Texas. He was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1937. He served in the Army Air Corps from 1942-1946. Mr. Gordon joined the law firm of Vinson, Elkins, Weems and Francis in Houston. He had been in private practice in Abilene since 1950. Gordon was a member of the State Bar of Texas and the Abilene Bar Association, serving as president in 1970-71. He was also a life member of the Texas Bar Foundation. Mr. Gordon was active in the Democratic Party. He was a member of the Rules and Order of Business Committee during the 1968 National Democratic Convention in Chicago. Governor John Connally appointed Mr. Gordon a member of the State Land Board of Texas in 1967. Subsequently, he was appointed chairman of the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, and he remained chairman under five different governors of Texas. He served as a member of the Executive Committee of the Independent Petroleum Association of America, also serving on the Import Policy and Natural Gas Committee. For a number of years he was chairman of the Liaison Committee, an association of state and national independent cooperating oil and gas associations in the United States. In Abilene he was chairman of the American Red Cross, Citizens for Better Government, Civil Service Commission of the City of Abilene, and the Abilene Preservation League. He was president of the Petroleum Club of Abilene and president of the board of Abilene Fine Arts Museum. He also served as Texas representative to the White House Conference on Aging under President Eisenhower. Mr. Gordon was an active member of St. Paul United Methodist Church-a past member of the Board of Trustees and a former Sunday School teacher. He is survived by Frances Lawlis Gordon, his wife of 70 years, a daughter, Brooke Gordon Cato and her husband George Cato of Austin, three granddaughters Leigh Gordon DuBose and husband Nathan of Austin, Ann Dowling Bernard and husband Tollie of Austin and Maggie Cato and fiancé Jay Habayeb of Houston, two great granddaughters Kate and Frances Bernard and three great grandsons Gordon DuBose, Tolbert Bernard, and John DuBose. He is also survived by his beloved nieces and nephews. Services will be at St. Paul United Methodist Church in Abilene on Thursday, July 1, at 2:00 p.m. Burial will be in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin on Saturday, July 3, at 10:00 a.m. under the direction of The Hamil Family Funeral Home, 6449 Buffalo Gap Road, Abilene. Officiating at the church will be Rev. Pam Rowley with music by Adam Samuels. Officiating in Austin will be Rev. William Boyd of Austin. Memorials may be made to St. Paul United Methodist Church, P O Box 3396, Abilene, TX 79604, or the church of the donor's choice. The family is very grateful to Sears Methodist Specialty Services and Sears Methodist Hospice for their loving care of Tom. Gordon loved his family, his friends, his country, and his over 60 years in the private practice of law.