Gordon Roy Woodcock passed away on October 17, 2020. Gordon was born in Corvallis, Oregon on April 6, 1933 to Arthur and Helen Woodcock. He graduated from Oregon State with a B.S in Aeronautical Engineering and from the University of Washington with an M.S in Nuclear Engineering. As a child he had an avid interest in astronomy and as an adult he followed this dream working in space exploration.
Gordon worked for NASA on the Saturn Program and then with Boeing on the Apollo Program and the International Space Station. He was a key member of the winning Boeing space station proposal. Before retiring from Boeing, he worked on the preliminary design of manned lunar and Mars exploration missions. He also worked for Space American and Gray Research as a consultant. Gordon’s publications include the books “Space Stations and Platforms” and “Space Exploration and Mission Engineering”. He wrote numerous articles for professional journals that were presented nationally and internationally.
He was a member of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, and a member and former president of the National Space Society.
Gordon had many hobbies including skiing, sailing, flying gliders, cycling, but he enjoyed running most of all. In his late 70’s he was still running marathons, and he continued jogging into his 80’s.
Gordon was also involved in three mission trips to Ecuador, Mexico, and South Africa. While in South Africa, he donated a telescope to a school.
Survivors include his wife, Linda; daughter, Kathleen Cutting and her husband, James; son, Gordon Woodcock and his wife, Spencer; two grandsons; two step-grandsons; three step-great-grandsons; a step-great-granddaughter; and his sister, Theresa Rossoff.
A private ceremony will be held to honor his life.
“Some men see things as they are and say why. I dream things that never were and say why not.”
