Clarence Rye "Cr" Gordon

Clarence Rye (CR) Gordon passed away on December 16th 2020 at the age of 92. The only child of Minor and Mary Alice Gordon, he was raised in Kilgore, graduated from Kilgore High School, Kilgore Junior College, Texas A&M, and Santa Clara University. He was a member of St. Luke’s Methodist Church.

In 1952 CR married his wife Vivian shortly before being deployed to Korea where he served in the Air Force as a fighter pilot. After a tour in Korea flying F86 fighters, he returned to Webb AFB as a flight instructor. He then decided to accept a position with Rocketdyne in California where he could be an engineer and continue to fly airplanes in the California National Guard in Van Nuys, California. From there he joined Lockheed Aircraft Corporation as a production test pilot. CR would spend the next 4 decades in the defense industry until retirement in 1992.
An Eagle Scout he was committed to the mission of Scouting and volunteered in many capacities throughout his adult life. After retiring and returning to Kilgore with Vivian, he volunteered at the Helping Hands food pantry.

CR leaves behind to cherish his loving example of integrity, strength, and charity, his wife Vivian of 68 years; daughters Sandra and Leslie; son Rex and his wife Debbie; grandson Scott, his wife Tamara and great grandson Asher; grandson Christopher, his wife Teresa and great grandsons Callisto, Vincent, Julian, and Diego; grandson Clay, his wife Johanna and newest great grandson Declan; Brothers- in-law, Dr. Kenneth Glaze and the late Dr. Robert (Bob) Glaze; along with many loved nieces and nephews.

To explain his joy of flying, he often quoted this selection from the poem High Flight by Royal Canadian Air Force pilot John Gillespie Magee, Jr, which concludes with…
“I’ve topped the windswept height with easy grace.
Where never lark, or even eagle flew.
And, while with silent, lifting mind I’ve trod
The high untrespassed sanctity of space,
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.”