Calvin Gilmore

                                                    Gilmore, Calvin Bucky

Age 90, beloved husband, father, and grandfather entered eternal rest on March 31, 2024. He was born April 22, 1933, to Gene and Alice (Miera) Gilmore in Socorro, N.M. Bucky was preceded in death by his parents; sister Doris; and son Kevin. He is survived by his wife, Jackie (Shaw) Gilmore of Albuquerque New Mexico; daughter Marlene Miller and husband Les of Mesquite, Texas; daughter Debbie Larkin and husband Mickey of Angel Fire N.M.; daughter Ana Oswald and husband Luke of Dingman’s Ferry, PA; daughter Alice Schowe and husband Randy of San Antonio, Texas; daughter Cheryl Story and husband Tyrone of Twinsburg, Ohio; daughter Calandra Torain and husband James of Macedonia, Ohio; son Sam Gilmore of Socorro, New Mexico; granddaughter Christie Ingalls and husband Jared of Olathe, Kansas; the two treasures of his life, granddaughters Tyler Polak and husband Adam; And Lauren Torain; grandsons Patrick Schowe and fiancé Carly; and Bryce Torain; great grandchildren Jackson, Noah, Collin Ingalls, Beau, and Blair; his brothers Gene and wife Ann of California; Jon and wife Margaret of Albuquerque; and many cousins, nieces, nephews, and friends. Bucky was raised by his grandparents, Estanislao and Teresita Miera, in San Antonio, New Mexico until High School age; thence by his mother in Socorro, New Mexico. His grandparents were his lifelong heroes. He was very proud of his Hispanic heritage and his earliest New Mexico ancestor, Bernardo Miera y Pacheco a well-known cartographer and artist of Spanish Colonial New Mexico. Bucky passed on his love of the Spanish language to his granddaughter Tyler who majored in Spanish in College and studied in Spain. He graduated from Socorro High School as class valedictorian and represented his school at the first Boy’s State in 1949 and as a member of the South all-star basketball team in 1950. He attended New Mexico A&M and New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. He joined the New Mexico National Guard in Socorro, proudly served for ten years and attained the rank of Warrant Officer. Bucky began a 24-year career in 1956 at White Sands Missile Range (WSMR) with Dynalectron Corporation, the Range data collection contractor. He worked about half that time at the Contractor’s headquarters at Holloman Air Force Base and the rest at Stallion Range Center. He held various positions including Electronic Instrumentation Supervisor, Manager of Operations Planning, and Manager of North Range Instrumentation Operations. He was also assigned to work on two challenging off-Range programs: at the U.S Army Arctic Rocket Research Facility in northern Manitoba, Canada where the average winter temperature was 35 degrees F below zero and was often 50 below. As Air-borne Instrumentation Supervisor he supported rocket launches designed to monitor radioactivity from nuclear testing in the upper atmosphere by The Soviet Union, others that measured radioactivity during periods of high solar activity (solar flares), and still others that carried early prototypes of high-resolution cameras such as those used in spy planes and satellites. He was also assigned to supervise instrumentation support of the off-range Hound Dog missile test program conducted between Del Rio, Texas and WSMR. 

After a full career with Dynalectron Corporation, Bucky decided to travel a new path as an entrepreneur. At age 47, he cashed in his pension to finance a year of operation and co-founded Cortez III Service Corporation along with his friend and business partner Johnny Glover, within their first few years of operation, they had competed for and were awarded service contracts with the Department of Defense, NASA, and Department of Energy. By the time Bucky retired, as a company President, after 13 years Cortez III had contracts totaling over a hundred and fifty million dollars per year and more than 1,300 employees, examples of their contracts included: for NASA, services in support of Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio and support of the International Space Station in Greenbelt, MD; and for Dept. of Defense; operation of the WSMR calibration Laboratory, operation and maintenance of the Utah Launch Complex, and support of the WSMR Data Reduction facilities. Bucky was very proud that Cortez III administered a program under the Data Reduction contract that provided jobs and tuition support for deserving New Mexico State University students. Seventy-Eight New Mexico youngsters graduated under this program while Cortez III held the contract. A few years after bucky retired and sold his interest in the company, Cortez III moved its headquarters from Albuquerque to Las Vegas, Nevada and changed the company name to TRAX International Corp. It is prospering and continues to grow as an employee-owned company. 

After retirement, Bucky dedicated himself to family and to painting, which he had loved since childhood. He painted many portraits primarily of his wife and granddaughters and New Mexico landscapes. He passed on his love of painting to his son, Sam. Also, in retirement he prepared a short list of three people who mentored, helped, or provided important advice over his life and career. He made a point to contact each of these people to thank them and acknowledge their positive influence on his life.

Bucky dearly loved his wife and family. According to his wishes, cremation has taken place.