Gordon W. Thompson

Gordon Thompson was a war veteran, engineer, and entrepreneur who loved to write and published two books. His memoir Before I Forget (2010) was written for his grandsons and shares wonderful stories about his early life and his reflections on the world. He loved to be busy and enjoyed golf in his free time, playing until he was 90.
Gordon had a remarkable life. After high school he joined the Merchant Marines and served in WWII taking supplies to soldiers fighting in the South Pacific. This service was finally recognized in 2021 when he received a Congressional Gold Medal. After WWII he worked on Merchant ships during college breaks to make tuition money. This allowed him to travel extensively as a young man and see much of the world. In 1950 he received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from OU and was then immediately drafted into the Army during the Korean War. He served as an ordinance instructor in Aberdeen, MD. It was there that he met his future wife, Betty, at a USO dance. They were married in 1953 and had 2 daughters.
After his military service he worked for DuPont until his retirement in 1982. He held multiple patents and notably worked with a small team of engineers at DuPont to develop the first plastic liter bottles for Pepsi in the early 1970s. He sometimes brought home the prototypes containing Pepsi for his family to taste test.

Source: Obituary.