Gordon O. "Gordie" Kilgore

Gordon O. "Gordie" Kilgore, age 81, of Elizabeth, Illinois, died Tuesday, September 19, 2006 at the Dubuque Nursing & Rehabilitation Center, Dubuque, Iowa. Funeral services will be held 11:00 a.m. Saturday, September 23, 2006 at First United Methodist Church in Elizabeth, Illinois. Pastor Dottie Morizo of Schapville Presbyterian Church, Schapville, Illinois and Reverend David Poust of the First United Methodist Church, Elizabeth, will officiate. Inurnment will take place at a later date. Visitation will be held from 3:00-8:00 p.m. Friday, September 22, 2006 at the Law Jones Funeral Home, Elizabeth. A Memorial Fund has been established in Gordie’s name. Condolences may be sent to the family at www.lawjonesfuneralhome.com .

Gordie was born February 22, 1925 the son of Carl and Esther (Fulmer) Kilgore in Rockford, Alabama. He graduated from Randolph High School in Randolph, Ohio, Class of 1943. Gordie served in the United States Navy during World War II in the Pacific Theater. Following the military he attended Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vermont where he received a degree in Communications. On November 1, 1991, Gordie married Helen Schaible in Schapville, Illinois. He and Helen are members of the Zion Presbyterian Church in Schapville.

Gordie began his illustrious radio broadcast career in 1948/1951, when he started doing play by play sports announcing at station KDTH in Dubuque. Three years later he was doing broadcasts. In 1956, his penchant for seeking out and reporting solid local news earned him a promotion to news director at the station. Kilgore made his mark with his reporting on the 1965 Mississippi River floods in the Dubuque area, before 24-hour news coverage was the norm. He received permission to broadcast live coverage of the flood around the clock for weeks. For his efforts, the city named a one-block street along Dubuque’s floodwall after him. Gordie received the John Bickel Award in 2006, presented by the National Rivers Hall of Fame, Dubuque; the Treasures of Dubuque Award and the Helen Mercer Award.

Gordie retired from KDTH radio in 1993, he continued on with his dedication to the National Rivers Hall of Fame and the Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium, serving as President and as a board member of the Dubuque Historical Society. He became the “Voice of the River” with his recordings of short stories about the Mississippi River heritage in Dubuque. Gordie held membership in the Galena Rotary (Paul Harris Fellow) and received the Silver Beaver Award for his participation in Boy Scouts.

Gordie will be dearly missed by his wife, Helen Kilgore of Elizabeth; his three sons, Patrick (Sherry) Kilgore of Lebanon, PA., Michael (Monica) Kilgore of Dubuque Iowa and Charles (JoAnne) Kilgore of Albuquerque, NM; a daughter, Joyce (Brian) Carlin of New Glarus, WI; step-son, Herb (Cindy) Wilson of Monroe, WI.; two step-daughters, Denise (Dan) Green of Galena, IL. and Julie (Bob) Nesbitt of Mukilteo, Washington; eighteen grandchildren; ten step-grandchildren; fifteen great grandchildren and four step-grandchildren; a brother, Paul Dean (Barbara) Kilgore of Winterhaven, Florida; a sister, Sandy (Wayne) Binn of Wichita, Kansas; father in-law, Marian Schaible of Elizabeth; and mother of his children, Marilyn Kilgore of Monroe, WI. Gordie is preceded in death by his parents; a son, Curtis and a sister, Juanita Kilgore.