Roll Call Tribute

Earle Gooch Stanford 

August 4, 1925 - December 28, 2023 

Earle Gooch Stanford, 98, loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, and uncle, passed away peacefully on Thursday, December 28, 2023. Earle was laid to rest at Stanford Chapel, Waco, Tx, on Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2024. 

Memorials may be made to Arlington Heights United Methodist Church, Fort Worth, Tx, or Stanford Chapel Cemetery Association, Waco, Tx.

Earle was born in San Antonio, Tx., August 4, 1925, to Edward Rosemond and Elizabeth Stanford. His father was president of the Methodist school for young women, Westmorland College. During the depression his father returned to the Methodist ministry and as a result Earle lived in Belton, Eastland, Waxahachie, Fort Worth, Waco, Weatherford, Killeen, and Cleburne.

Earle entered Texas A&M University in 1942 and joined the US Navy in 1944. During WWII, he served in Shanghai, China. In 1947, he graduated from Texas A&M with a degree in electrical engineering and began working for the Santa Fe Railroad in Galveston, Tx. In 1955 he moved to Fort Worth to begin his 35 year career at General Dynamics. His projects included the B-58, F-111, and F-16. He was respected by everyone who worked with him until his retirement in 1990. He enjoyed traveling and took his wife and children on many summer vacations to national parks, historical sites and battlefields, along with many trips to his beloved Galveston.

He married Sarah Ann Kimbro in 1951 and they raised four children. They joined Arlington Heights United Methodist Church in 1956 where Earle served on the board of trustees and used his engineering skills to direct operations and preserve the historic church buildings.

Survivors include: His four children, Susan Stanford, Thomas Stanford and his wife Carol, Mary Alice Stanford and her husband Don Jones, and Edward Stanford and his wife Sharon. He also leaves behind his grandchildren Christopher (Amanda) Bradley, Matt (Lena Lopez)Bradley, Elizabeth (Cameron) Stewart, Courtney Stanford, and Emily (Sam) Hungate.