William Donald Gorman was born in a small house in the farming community of Rankin on December 20, 1934.  His parents, Elliott Owen Gorman and Katherine Falsom Gorman, struggled through the Depression to survive.  His sister Janice Gorman was born on January 18, 1938.

Life was difficult, but this infused in the people of the greatest generation a work ethic and frugality that would last a lifetime.  In high school, Bill had a close circle of friends, and they enjoyed playing basketball, cruising the streets on Friday and Saturday nights, and riding the bus to see a matinee double feature on Saturdays for 25 cents.  He attended the University of Texas at Arlington from 1954 to 1956 and was a member of the ROTC.  In 1956 in transferred to the University of Texas at Austin to study Electrical Engineering.  During the summers, while in college, he worked as a draftsman at Collins Radio to pay for his education.  On New Year's Eve 1956, Bill was fortunate enough to be set up on a blind date that would turn out to be his partner in life for the next 66 years, Carolyn Porter.  They married a year later, on January 25, 1958, and he graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering six months later.

In 1962, Bill was admitted to the Master's Program in Electrical Engineering at Southern Methodist University, and they moved to Dallas and bought a small house on Donaway Drive.  While pursuing his Master's degree, he taught engineering courses at the university and oversaw the updating and modernization of the electrical engineering curriculum at SMU.  The following year, they welcomed their first child, John William Gorman, into this world.  In 1966, Bill was accepted into the Doctorate Program for Electrical Engineering at Texas A & M University, and welcomed their second son, James Eric Gorman.  Bill graduated from TAMU in August 1969, moved the family briefly back to Dallas, and welcomed their third son, Michael Elliott Gorman.  In 1971, Bill landed a Job with Texas Instruments, and the family moved to Austin.

While in Austin, Bill was the Co-Founder of the North Austin Civic Association and was actively involved in local politics.  In 1974, the Bill was transferred to the Texas Instruments plant in Dallas, and the family moved to Plano, Texas, where it would be the family home for the next 52 years. While at Texas Instruments, Bill was on the team that developed the Global Positioning System, one of the most significant developments to alter the course of society as we know it.  During the 1980's, Bill played a key role in Texas Instruments' weapons development branch, becoming known as the father of Infrared Autonomous Acquisition Missile Guidance Systems.  He also played a key role in developing the camera and guidance systems on the F-117 Stealth Fighter.  Additionally, he played a pivotal role in developing the guidance systems for the Tomahawk cruise missile and the Javelin system for the military.  During his tenure at Texas Instruments, Bill rose through the ranks and retired as a Senior Member of the Technical Staff.

After finally retiring in 2004, Bill designed and began building a vacation home in the Colorado Mountains.  Over the next 20 years, Bill and Carolyn would spend their summers developing close and enduring friendships with their neighbors.

Family life was full of adventure as Bill and Carolyn discovered the Rocky Mountains and the joys of trout fishing.  But there was one place that they fell in love with, South Fork, Colorado, and Big Meadow Campground.  Every family vacation for the next 20 years always had to include a week or two camping and fishing at Big Meadow.  In 1997, they bought a .66 acre lot in the mountains above Pagosa Springs, Colorado.  Over the next several years, Bill spent countless hours designing the house they planned to build on the lot that they had purchased.  Breaking ground in 2004, the house was completed in 2006, and every summer thereafter would be spent playing golf and fishing in the streams and lakes around Pagosa Springs.  On August 1, 2024 he lost his partner in life, but was able to return with his son, John, to spend the summer of 2025 at the place that had been such a large part of his life.

Bill is survived by his three sons: John William Gorman, James Eric Gorman, and Michael Elliott Gorman, and 5 grandchildren: Elizabeth Blair Gorman, Emily Brooke Gorman, Michael Spencer Gorman, Elliott Porter Gorman, Lillian Grace Gorman.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, February 15, 20256, beginning at 3 p.m. until 5 p.m. in the J.E. Keever Mortuary Chapel of Ennis.

A Celebration of his life will be held on Monday, February 16, 2026, at 10 a.m. in the J.E. Keever Mortuary Chapel of Ennis. Pallbearers will be Davis Brunson, David Zurcherer, Dustin Schultz, Devon Schultz, Spencer Gorman and Elliott Gorman.  Interment will follow in Elm Branch Cemetery in Bardwell, Texas directed by J.E. Keever Mortuary, Inc.

Submitted by Family