Obituary of William Lee Gilmore

William "Bill" L. Gilmore passed away on January 3, 2025, at the age of 80. He was born on May 2, 1944, in Marshall, TX. He will be laid to rest in a private family service at the DFW National Cemetery with military honors.

Bill spent his adult life working in the Fort Worth area, first as a machinist and later as a design engineer in the munitions field. He often referred to himself as a "Powder Monkey!"

Bill was a motorcycle enthusiast. At the age of 15, he rode a BSA 600 and later a Triumph 650. He was known for riding his bike home from junior high for lunch. Students would gather at the lunchroom windows to watch him "blast off." Over the years, he owned various other bikes and took many road trips.

Bill loved the adventure of travel. In 1964, he and his friend Thomas Edgerton rode their 10-speed bicycles from Fort Worth to California for the GOP convention in support of presidential candidate Barry Goldwater. Their journey was featured in the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

In the 1970s, Bill and Thomas bought an old car and headed south. When the car broke down deep in the interior of Mexico, they continued their journey by bus, train, and on foot. While camping in Guatemala, a rebel army mistook them for another rebel group and took their Army surplus goods at gunpoint. They recovered their supplies through the American Embassy in Guatemala City. While sitting on a city curb in Honduras, they experienced a massive earthquake that brought buildings and homes crashing down.

Bill eventually reached the southern tip of South America, known as Tierra del Fuego (Land of Fire), where indigenous people historically used hand-held torches to guide boats through the outer islands at night. The entire journey lasted over eight months.

Bill often took leaves of absence from work to satisfy his love of adventure. He would hop on freight trains, embracing the unpredictability of where he might end up.

During the Vietnam era, Bill was drafted into the U.S. Army and stationed at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, where he worked in electronics. He also served as an Army Honor Guard, participating in numerous military funerals across the Northeast U.S.

Bill had a passion for cars. In 1967, just before being drafted, he purchased a new blue Chevrolet Corvette. While he was away at boot camp, his sister Deborah drove it to and from high school, instantly increasing her popularity. In 1981, Bill bought a new DeLorean, which he enjoyed for a while before parking it alongside his Harley motorcycle for many years.

Bill designed and supervised the construction of his unconventional home in the Polytechnic area of Fort Worth. Made of cinder blocks and painted white, it was nicknamed the "Sugar Cube." The house had a below-ground entry with a diamond-shaped stainless steel door that opened via hydraulic keypad. A spiral staircase led to the second-level living area and an upper-level viewing deck, offering a fantastic view of downtown Fort Worth. The house was featured in a Fort Worth Star-Telegram article titled "The Sugar Cube House."

Bill was an outdoorsman who walked hundreds of miles with his beloved dog, Skipper. He befriended people living in homeless camps along the river, often bringing them cooking supplies and food.

He also cherished numerous campouts at the Simmons Ranch in Oklahoma, where he enjoyed campfire meals, hiking, fishing, and shooting. His arsenal of weapons included a "Street Sweeper," a 12-gauge semi-automatic shotgun with a hand-crank rotating barrel. Bill earned his nickname, "The Powder Monkey," with his love of explosive devices, which he often set off in washed-out canyons.

Bill was preceded in death by his parents, Richard and Cynthia Gilmore, of Fort Worth, TX.

He is survived by his brother Ike Gilmore of Albuquerque, NM; his sister Deborah Simmons and husband Dwane of Fort Worth, TX; uncle R.L. "Spence" Spencer and wife Dorothy of Uncertain, TX; and cousin Chuck Spencer and wife Sandra of Marshall, TX.

Nieces and nephews include Michelle Gilmore of Mesa, AZ; Shannon Simmons of Fort Worth, TX; and Landon Simmons and wife Kayla of Jacksonville, NC.