He was born Sept. 2, 1942, in Wichita to Charles and Grace Woolf and was raised on the family dairy farm in Cheney. He attended Cheney Public Schools, graduating in 1961, and was a member of the Cheney United Methodist Church. His classmates knew him as “Butch,” a moniker he shed when moving to Florida in 1983. He was infamous for his antics, the most notable involving paint, a ladder and the Cheney water tower.

He loved music and started preparing for a music education career at Kansas State Teachers College in Emporia. An unfortunate accident changed that and he ended up specializing in logistics, giving him career opportunities he, as a Kansas farm boy, never dreamed possible.

Cessna and Collins in Wichita opened the logistics career, where he managed parts inventories. He moved to Dallas and worked for LTV and Grumman. He then accepted a 5-year civilian contract managing aircraft parts inventory aboard the aircraft carrier USS Coral Sea as it was deployed around the globe. This complex experience paved the way for his final logistical challenge, working on the NASA Space Shuttle program.

He worked for United Space Alliance from 1983 to his retirement in 2011, working on STS-6 (Space Transport System) through STS-133.

He was preceded in death by his parents and brother Stanley. He is survived by his wife, Peggy Sue Woolf; son, Richard (Sheryl Taucer) Woolf of Batavia, Ohio; daughter, Bandi (Darren) Dunn of Burleson, Texas; step-daughters, Lisa LaRue of Port St. John, Fla., and Karen Stites of Fort Smith, Ark.; grandchildren, Tyler and Brittnie Dunn; brothers, Melvin (Peggy) of Merritt Island, Fla., and Allen (Rosanne) of Cheney; and nieces and nephews.

Gordon will be buried in a private ceremony at the Fairview Cemetery in Cheney. The family expresses their appreciation to St. Francis Reflections Lifestage Care, Titusville, Fla.