Robert Fisher Gore

1932 - 2012

OCEAN PINE, Md. - Robert Fisher Gore, of Ocean Pines, Maryland and previously of Bonham, passed away on Sunday, July 29, 2012 in Alexandria, Va. Family and Marine Corps friends attended his funeral in Alexandria on Sunday, Sept. 2, 2012. A retired Marine Corps Chaplain conducted the service at the Blessed Sacrament Catholic Community Church.

"Pudge" Gore was born on Nov. 8, 1932, in Chicago, Illinois to Milton Burr Gore and Mildred Fisher Gore. He had an older brother, Milton who was a career Navy man. Pudge graduated from Sullivan High School in Chicago and the Naval ROTC of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. After Basic School for officers at Quantico, Va., and Flight School at Pensacola, Fla., Pudge served an 18-month tour as a fighter pilot at Iwakuni, Japan.

Returning to the United States, he served in Millington, Tenn., and Quantico, Va. for two tours. In January, 1961, he married Barbara Ann Biggerstaff from Bonham, Texas at Parris Island, South Carolina, where she was stationed. Two children, William Bonham Gore and Sally Ann Gore, were born to this marriage in Quantico, Va.

During a three-year tour for this family in Hawaii, Pudge went to Jump School in Okinawa, Japan and became a forward air controller in addition to being a jet pilot. He served temporaily with Admiral Zumwalt in San Diego.

From July 1966 to August 1976, Pudge served at Da Nang, Vietnam, as a forward air controller. He flew a Piper Cub-type plane along the jungle and mountain trails to spot the enemy and call in the attack jets. Meanwhile, his family was spending the year at home in Bonham.

That pattern continued; duty at Cherry Point, N.C. for three years and then overseas again for 13 months, until he retired in 1974 as a Major in the United States Marine Corps.

He had received an MBA at East Carolina University and attended S.M.U. Law School in Dallas, Texas, graduating in May 1977. After two years learning Labor Law with a firm in Memphis, Tenn., he joined the Right to Work Committee in Washington, D.C.

His first marriage having ended in 1977, he married Madelaine Morgan in October 1981, in Pittsburgh, Pa. Based in Alexandria, Va., he conducted labor law cases nationwide, even taking a case before the U.S. Supreme Court. It was a very satisfying second career of about 20 years. His fondest hobbies were tennis, golf and always duplicate bridge. Robert and Madelaine enjoyed a 30-year marriage.

A final inurnment will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 24, 2012 at the Willow Wild Cemetery Pavilion in Bonham, Texas. Dr. Gene Owen will officiate with Military Honors provided by the U.S.M.C. Honor Guard. Many family members will be attending from across the United States. Services are under the direction of Wise Funeral Home in Bonham and memories may be shared with the online guest register at http://www.wisefuneralhome.com.