Carl Gordon Stockard

Carl Gordon Stockard passed away on June 11, 2025, at age 93 in Gainesville, Texas, surrounded by family.

Born to Clifford and Thelma (Gotcher) Stockard on July 21, 1931, in Garza, Texas, Carl was the fourth of eight children. He graduated from Lewisville High School in 1948.

He joined the Air Force on Dec. 16, 1950, and was stationed at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas. Carl married Patricia Pockrus on April 13, 1952, in Muskogee, Oklahoma, while he was still in the service. They had two sons, one born at Sheppard AFB and the other at Chanute AFB in Rantoul, Illinois. After Carl left the Air Force, he moved his young family to Lake Dallas, where they had a daughter. They eventually settled in Dallas and had two more children.

Carl attended North Texas State University and earned a bachelor’s degree in Industrial Arts in 1956 while working part time at an auto body shop in Denton; he eventually earned a Master of Science Degree in Industrial Arts in 1962. Carl taught drafting, woodworking, plastics, and electronics at LV Stockard Junior High School and Bryan Adams High School, both in Dallas from 1957 through 1967. During summers, he drove a Greyhound bus, and on Friday nights filmed Dallas high school football games for the school district, often taking his sons Mike and David to load film in the cameras and help him process the film. He occasionally even “roped in” his brother-in-law, Gerald Slater, into helping him, as Carl described it.

When his children were small, Carl recalled coming home from work and lying on the floor, and “the kids would pile on top of me.”

He and Pat spent weekends camping, fishing and waterskiing with their family, often joined by his siblings and their spouses, with whom he remained close all of his life. He and Pat took frequent family vacations camping out West during the summers, driving as far as Willamina, Oregon, to visit Pat’s mother and stepdad.

They frequently visited Carl’s childhood home in Lake Dallas, where Carl’s parents lived and his extended family regularly gathered on weekends and holidays. These family gatherings remain some of their children’s favorite memories, of cousins, aunts and uncles, and grandparents; Easter egg hunts; watching their grandpa plow the garden with a mule; and helping gather chicken eggs. When a young rat terrier named Peaches was about to meet her maker for chasing chickens, Carl took her home to the delight of his kids.

In 1967, he moved his family to Gainesville, Texas, where he taught at Cooke County College, eventually serving as Dean of Evening School and Extension Classes in 1972 and retiring in 1988. After retirement, Carl also taught part time at Gainesville Middle School and Gainesville High School, as well some classes for NCTC (formerly Cooke County College). Pat earned an education degree at NTSU and taught at an elementary school for many years.

They owned a farm outside Gainesville, where they raised cattle, as well as a horse for the kids to ride. They eventually built a house and moved there with their youngest two children. Eventually, Carl and Pat sold the farm and bought a house in Pitkin, Colorado, where they lived nearly 10 years, often wintering at Lake Texoma.

Carl married Nancy Herrington in November 1997. They lived in Gainesville, Texas, and a year later moved just outside Thackerville, Oklahoma, to get away from the “rooftops and fences,” as Carl described town life. He continued to raise a few cattle; Nancy raised miniature donkeys. They loved to travel, pulling a travel trailer behind their pickup.

Carl had retired from teaching by then and worked a series of jobs, including for the City of Gainesville for 12 years driving heavy equipment, doing street maintenance, and operating the water treatment plant. When a casino was built nearby, Carl worked there for two years until the casino encroached too close to their property. He sold the farm and he and Nancy moved 10 miles north, just outside Marietta, where he retired for good.

Carl was a passionate gardener, growing tomatoes, asparagus, squash, onions, and okra that reached 10 feet. Even in his late 80s, he plowed and planted a large garden, using a foot plow or a rototiller. He also grew grapes and fruit trees. He gave away fresh vegetables everywhere he went, to his doctor, dentist, the mail carrier, and to friends and family.

When a small gray kitten showed up and was undeterred being ignored and rebuffed, Carl eventually was won over and named her Thomasina – Tom – and cared for her for 12 years. He built a cat condominium in the garage, with fans in the summer and a heater in the winter. When he sat on the back patio under a ceiling fan in the summer, she slept in his lap. If he went into the garden, she followed him like a faithful dog. They had a special fondness for each other and for the outdoors.

In March 2025, Carl fell in his house, hitting the back of his head. His son David took him to the Ardmore hospital, where he was diagnosed with a minor brain bleed. Carl remained in the hospital for 12 days recovering from the head trauma. He then moved to Renaissance Care Center in Gainesville for further recovery and physical therapy. He worked hard to regain his strength. Shortly after, he and Nancy moved to Homestead Nursing & Rehabilitation in Gainesville, where she passed away a few days later.

Carl was preceded in death by his parents, Clifford and Thelma Stockard of Lake Dallas; his wife, Nancy; Pat, his wife of 45 years; their son, John; his sister, Mary Jo Williams; brother, Raymond Stockard; sister, Gladys Carlton; sister, Ruth Slater; and brother, Glen Curtis Stockard.

He is survived by four children, Michael Stockard and his wife, Janet of Krum, Texas; Glenn David Stockard and his wife, Rosie of Gainesville, Texas; Sharon Stockard of Anchorage, Alaska; and Patti Ann Mauldin of Thackerville, Oklahoma; as well as his brother, Alfred Stockard; sister Ann Morriss and her husband, Richard; and brother-in-law, Gerald Slater. Carl also leaves behind 10 grandchildren: Jennifer Stockard, Brandon Stockard, Jason Stockard, Chris Mauldin, Jonathan Stockard, Rachel Ruiz, Quinn Berry, Patty Franklin, Billy Franklin, and Michael (Mikey) Franklin; many nieces and nephews and great-grandchildren; four great-great-grandchildren; and his dear friend, Fred Grice of Marietta.

The family will receive friends at Geo. J. Carroll & Son Funeral Home in Gainesville, Texas, on July 10 at 10:00 am. The Memorial services will be held at July 10 at 11:00 am. at the funeral home, with his grandson, the Rev. Chris Mauldin, officiating.