1945-2026
Gordon Wesley Gillock died peacefully at Via Christi St. Joseph in Wichita, Kansas, on Wednesday October 7, 2026, at the age of 80.
Gordon was a graduate of Deerfield High School and went on to Oklahoma Panhandle St ate University, where he received his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Later, he completed his Masters in Secondary Education at Fort Hays State University.
After graduating from OPSU, Gordon married Barbara Jean Hall of Liberal, KS, on June 9, 1968. They were married 48 years.
Gordon spent 3 years in the U S Army. (Dad always said he joined the Army because US ARMY stood for “Uncle Sam Ain’t Released Me Yet”). He took his Basic training at Fort Bliss, Texas, where, in his words, “there was nothing but cactus, sand, sagebrush, and scorpions.” His AIT (Advanced Individual Training) was in Fort Eustis, Virginia, where he earned his MOS (Military Occupational Specialty) as a specialist in Movements Control. Gordon spent one year in Viet Nam, at Long Bien and Newport Docks, just outside of Saigon, as a Specialist 4 with the 368th Transportation Company, and was the office manager for two Deep Draft Berths. (Where merchant cargo ships were tied up and loaded or unloaded). While there, Gordon received the rank of Specialist 5, and was awarded the Purple Heart.
He was then rotated back to the US, where he was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, with the 501st Administrative Company of the 1st Armored Division, where he was awarded an Army A c c ommoda t i on Medal while working as the supervisor of the CS3 (Combat Service Support Systems) office, an experimental project in combat support servi c e s ( mos t l y experimental mobile computer personnel and equipment accounting). He was later transferred to the 1st Air Cavalry Division. After being released from the service, Gordon spent his first year as the Office Manager at the Garden City Coop Feedlot in Deerfield.
From there, Gordon and Barbara moved to Dodge City, where he began his working career as a CPA with Hogue, Beebe, & Trindle, and later, with Elmer Fox & Company. Gordon spent 5 years as a CPA, 5 years as an assistant administrator at the Dodge City Medical Center, and 3 years as a public accountant, before moving his family back to Garden City and Deerfield.
He spent 23 years as a professor of accounting and computer science at Garden City Community College. After he retired in 2008, he became a Certified Lay Speaker in the United Methodist Church, and spent many Sundays filling the pulpit in several Methodist and Presbyterian churches in Southwest Kansas—a job he loved. He was an active member of the Deerfield United Methodist Church and later the Deerfield Methodist Church.
Gordon loved to square dance with his wife, Barbara, and the couple spent many Saturday nights in some small local town at the square dance hall. Gordon also liked to line dance, as well as ballroom dance, and he and Barbara spent many loving hours doing these things together. Dad always said, “Barbara was my best friend and my dance partner, as well as my wife.”
Some of Gordon’s hobbies involved dancing, model railroading, woodworking, and gardening. In his younger years, he and his brother, Myron, would do a lot of hunting. He also liked to operate selfpropelled mowers, and spent many summers operating a mower for the parks department in Garden City. He also worked several years running a mower for the City of Lakin. He always said, “I can give back that way.”
Gordon loved life and the people he could share it with. He spent a lot of time at the coffee shop in Lakin, and could be found there every morning, unless he was out of town, except Sunday. The coffee shop was closed on Sunday, and besides that, he was usually in church somewhere.
Gordon was preceded in death by his wife, Barbara Jean (Hall) Gillock of Deerfield, Kansas; son, Sheridan Munroe Gillock of Wichita, Kansas; parents, Andrew Monroe and Ruby Maude (Goodman) Gillock of Deerfield, Kansas; two brothers, Truman Carl Gillock and Myron Roe Gillock, both from Deerfield, Kansas; and sister Mavis Arlene (Gillock) Thomas of Dodge City, Kansas.
He left behind two daughters, LaDeana Marie Gillock, of Lakin, Kansas, Cynthia Janelle Gillock of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida; sister, Neva Janelle (Gillock) Quakenbush of Garden Ci t y , Kansas; grandson, Zaine Prestin Gillock of Miami Gardens, Florida; and many bonus sons, daughters, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren A Memorial Service will be held at 2:00 pm, Friday October 16, 2026, at the Deerfield Methodist Church, with Pastor Greg Fletcher officiating.
Burial will follow in the Deerfield Cemetery with Military Honors conducted by the United States Army Honor Guard and the Southwest Kansas Veterans Honor Guard.
The family suggests memorial contributions to the Gordon Gillock Memorial Fund in care of Garnand Funeral Home, P.O. Box 91, Lakin, Kansas 67860
Gordon Wesley Gillock
