1933
Mack
2016
Mack Gordon
November 19, 1933 — July 12, 2016
Mack Gordon, 82, of Amarillo died Tuesday, July 12, 2016.
Memorial Services will be 1:00 p.m., Monday, July 18, 2016 at First Baptist Church with Dr. Howard K. Batson officiating. Private interment will be at Llano Cemetery. Arrangements are by Schooler Funeral Home, 4100 S. Georgia, Amarillo, Texas and Brooks Funeral Directors, 1702 5th Ave, Canyon, Texas.
Mack Gordon was born November 19, 1933 in Waco, TX. His mother died 3 months after his birth leaving his father, one older brother and the new baby. Later his father remarried a lovely lady with one son.
The family moved to Amarillo in 1935. Mack went to Alice Landergin Elementary School, Elizabeth Nixon Junior High School and graduated from Amarillo High School in 1952. He loved sports and played football in junior and senior high school. He was the captain of the 1952 Sandie track team and was high-point man at the district meet that year. He played on the first Kids Inc. softball and football teams in 1945.
After high school he attended Dallas School of Mortuary Science and received his license as a funeral director in 1955. He attended Amarillo College for two years and then was drafted into the US Navy in 1956. He served his two years in San Diego as a hospital corpsman.
Upon his release from the Navy he returned to the funeral industry and worked for Blackburn Shaw Funeral Directors. It was there that he and his longtime friend, Maurice Schooler began planning to go in business for themselves. In October 1962 they opened Schooler Gordon Funeral Directors at 1010 W. 9th. They struggled for years before they were able to gain recognition as capable funeral directors. They grew to become not only the largest funeral home in Amarillo but the largest in the Texas Panhandle as they owned locations in Canyon, Clayton, NM, Clarendon, Dalhart, Wellington, Childress, Silverton, Quitaque, Turkey and the two Amarillo locations.
In 1991 all the funeral homes were sold to a Houston company but made it possible for some managers to purchase their locations which gave Mack and Maurice one of their greatest pleasures, that of seeing young men with the chance to own their own places. He retired in 1996 from the funeral business. Mack attributed their success to his partner, Maurice, and all the wonderful people who were the Schooler Gordon family.
Mack served on many boards in Amarillo. He was past president of Better Business Bureau, Llano Cemetery, Amarillo Executive Association and served on the budget committee of the United Way, the board of Tealwood Lakes and the Jr. Chamber of Commerce. He was past president of the Charlatan Dance Club and was a member of the Amarillo Club, Vagabond Dance Club and was a former member of Rotary and Lions Cubs.
Mack married Dixie Conley in 1973. She was the joy and love of his life and she loved his children and grandchildren as if they were her own. A source of pride was the devotion of his wife and daughters to their churches and their faith.
Mack loved football more than you could believe. He attended probably more games at Bivins Stadium than anyone in Amarillo. Dixie shared his love for football and they often went to small towns to see games. He loved life and having fun. He thought every day should be fun. He loved jokes and making people laugh. After his retirement he enjoyed his friends and started The Lunch Bunch, 21 friends who met every week to have lunch, tell jokes and rehash the old days.
He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Finney “Cotton” Gordon, and a step brother, Edward Cheadle.
He is survived by his wife, three daughters, Lyn and her husband Tom Light of Bedford, TX; Shelley and her husband Patrick Stewart of Amarillo; and Gae and her husband David Strange of Amarillo; five grandchildren; Ty Debord, Seth and Sean Cross of Amarillo and Paige and Berkley Dugan of Bedford, TX.
The family request memorials be made in memory of Mack to a favorite charity or to Opportunity School, 1100 S. Harrison, Amarillo, Texas 79101.
Memorial Services will be 1:00 p.m., Monday, July 18, 2016 at First Baptist Church with Dr. Howard K. Batson officiating. Private interment will be at Llano Cemetery. Arrangements are by Schooler Funeral Home, 4100 S. Georgia, Amarillo, Texas and Brooks Funeral Directors, 1702 5th Ave, Canyon, Texas.
Mack Gordon was born November 19, 1933 in Waco, TX. His mother died 3 months after his birth leaving his father, one older brother and the new baby. Later his father remarried a lovely lady with one son.
The family moved to Amarillo in 1935. Mack went to Alice Landergin Elementary School, Elizabeth Nixon Junior High School and graduated from Amarillo High School in 1952. He loved sports and played football in junior and senior high school. He was the captain of the 1952 Sandie track team and was high-point man at the district meet that year. He played on the first Kids Inc. softball and football teams in 1945.
After high school he attended Dallas School of Mortuary Science and received his license as a funeral director in 1955. He attended Amarillo College for two years and then was drafted into the US Navy in 1956. He served his two years in San Diego as a hospital corpsman.
Upon his release from the Navy he returned to the funeral industry and worked for Blackburn Shaw Funeral Directors. It was there that he and his longtime friend, Maurice Schooler began planning to go in business for themselves. In October 1962 they opened Schooler Gordon Funeral Directors at 1010 W. 9th. They struggled for years before they were able to gain recognition as capable funeral directors. They grew to become not only the largest funeral home in Amarillo but the largest in the Texas Panhandle as they owned locations in Canyon, Clayton, NM, Clarendon, Dalhart, Wellington, Childress, Silverton, Quitaque, Turkey and the two Amarillo locations.
In 1991 all the funeral homes were sold to a Houston company but made it possible for some managers to purchase their locations which gave Mack and Maurice one of their greatest pleasures, that of seeing young men with the chance to own their own places. He retired in 1996 from the funeral business. Mack attributed their success to his partner, Maurice, and all the wonderful people who were the Schooler Gordon family.
Mack served on many boards in Amarillo. He was past president of Better Business Bureau, Llano Cemetery, Amarillo Executive Association and served on the budget committee of the United Way, the board of Tealwood Lakes and the Jr. Chamber of Commerce. He was past president of the Charlatan Dance Club and was a member of the Amarillo Club, Vagabond Dance Club and was a former member of Rotary and Lions Cubs.
Mack married Dixie Conley in 1973. She was the joy and love of his life and she loved his children and grandchildren as if they were her own. A source of pride was the devotion of his wife and daughters to their churches and their faith.
Mack loved football more than you could believe. He attended probably more games at Bivins Stadium than anyone in Amarillo. Dixie shared his love for football and they often went to small towns to see games. He loved life and having fun. He thought every day should be fun. He loved jokes and making people laugh. After his retirement he enjoyed his friends and started The Lunch Bunch, 21 friends who met every week to have lunch, tell jokes and rehash the old days.
He was preceded in death by his parents; a brother, Finney “Cotton” Gordon, and a step brother, Edward Cheadle.
He is survived by his wife, three daughters, Lyn and her husband Tom Light of Bedford, TX; Shelley and her husband Patrick Stewart of Amarillo; and Gae and her husband David Strange of Amarillo; five grandchildren; Ty Debord, Seth and Sean Cross of Amarillo and Paige and Berkley Dugan of Bedford, TX.
The family request memorials be made in memory of Mack to a favorite charity or to Opportunity School, 1100 S. Harrison, Amarillo, Texas 79101.
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