Tributes

Gordon B. Alley (November 2, 1947 – March 21, 2026) was born in McAllen, Texas and departed this world to spend eternity with God, at the age of 78 years. He was the son of Kenneth L. Alley (born in South Dakota in 1911) and Esther Zeller Alley (born in Iowa in 1917). The three moved from McAllen to Leon Valley in November 1948. He had two younger brothers, Raymond Louis Alley, born 1951, and Craig G Alley, born 1952. Gordon was preceded in death by his parents, Kenneth and Esther Alley, and infant brother Raymond Louis. Gordon attended Leon Valley Elementary School, Sul Ross Junior High, and graduated from John Marshall High School in 1965 as the valedictorian. Between his high school years, he attended a summer program in science and electronics at the University of Iowa. Gordon was fortunate to receive a Minnie Stevens Piper Foundation scholarship to Rice University, where he graduated with his BA and Master of Electrical Engineering in 1971. While growing up he learned to play piano, then saxophone in high school, and went on to enjoy being part of the Rice Owl band. Gordon excelled academically in science, mathematics and physics. His senior high school science fair project involved transmitting sound through light waves and he came up with a way for his mother to turn lights on and off in a room by touching the door frame. He was a member of MENSA, the international high-IQ organization founded in Oxford England for individuals scoring in the top 2% of standardized intelligence tests. After graduation from Rice, Gordon spent his career working as an Electronics Engineer and Computer Systems Analyst for ACECO, a company in San Antonio involved in designing and manufacturing automatic process control systems. His first few years involved designing digital logic circuits. He later became their primary developer and maintainer of software for one of their platforms. For fun, he got SCUBA certified and also enjoyed travel cruises that took him to countries all over the world. Gordon’s interest in science and technology stayed with him all of his life. He could program digital equipment using machine language (zeros and ones). He enjoyed participating as a board member and webmaster for the MacApple user group in San Antonio. In huge contrast to his career responsibilities, he really enjoyed theme parks. He had an annual pass to Fiesta Texas in San Antonio starting in the early 90’s and would be at the park several days each week, walking the park and attending the shows. He referred to this as his fitness routine. He enjoyed getting to know many of the performers and helped them produce demo videos of their performances. He also got to know the park staff. One of them suggested that he knew the park so well, he should go to work there. So he did. He took a part-time job at Fiesta Texas working just one or two days each weekend and loved it! When he retired from his “real” job at ACECO years ago, he continued working at the park on weekends and even worked there the weekend before he passed away. You’d see him at the parking kiosk, or taking tickets at the entrance, helping with customer relations, or he’d be there on his days off encouraging performers and enjoying the people. Fiesta Texas (now Six Flags) was like his extended family. Unless you were discussing science, space, technology, astro physics, science fiction, or something at Six Flags, Gordon was a reserved person and often stayed in the background. In his later years, you might catch him taking a nap in the corner while others visited. As friends heard of his passing, the words used to describe Gordon tell his story; honest, sincere, smart, kind, generous, giving, helpful, respectful, intelligent, fun, forgiving, and a loyal friend. Gordon is survived by his youngest brother, Craig, Gordon’s sister-in-law Karen, nephews Brian (Kristi), Kevin (Savannah), great nieces Taylor and Jordyn, great nephew Parker, and a host of cousins and wonderful friends. Gordon planned to be cremated and didn’t want an elaborate service. A graveside service will be held May 2, 2026, at 10:00am at Mission Park Dominion Cemetery (just northwest of San Antonio) where his ashes will be buried next to his parents. In line with his wishes, the family has requested that in lieu of flowers, you donate to your favorite charity in his memory.

Tributes

Gordon B. Alley

November 2, 1947 - March 21, 2026