Captain James Gore

James Roy Gore, Captain United States Navy, Retired. Navy Aviator and cattleman, Capt. Gore was born in Chicago, Illinois, March 7, 1933 and moved to Griffin when he was four years old. He died April 21, 2016 at his home in Pike County after a lengthy illness with cancer. He was the son of the late Dr. Ulys R. and Mary Swearengen Gore. Capt. Gore was a Navy pilot flying jets, multi-engine transports and single and multi-engine jet helicopters. He flew 19 different types of naval aircraft during his long military career, and was a test pilot for many of those aircraft. His last flying assignment was as Commanding Officer of Helicopter Antisubmarine Four in San Diego, California. Capt. Gore attended Baylor Military Academy in Chattanooga, graduated from Griffin High School in 1951, and attended Georgia Tech for two years before entering the Navy in the Aviation Cadet Program. He graduated from the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California with a Bachelor’s Degree in International Relations and a Master’s Degree in Financial Management. His last non-flying assignment was Comptroller of the Navy in Washington, D.C. Capt. Gore retired after 29 years of service with the United States Navy. He was a veteran of the Vietnam War, flying helicopter search and rescue missions over North Vietnam. During the Vietnam War, U.S. SAR forces saved 3,883 lives at the cost of 71 rescuers and 45 aircraft. He often said he was so lucky to have survived as so many of his friends did not. Capt. Gore’s passion for flying never waned; he continued to fly his beloved Mooney until ill health forced him to stop flying at age 79, thereby ending 57 years of flying. He was a good and honorable man of great integrity, was a father figure to many and was loved by people in all walks of life. He will be greatly missed by the many whose lives he touched. Jim loved his cattle farm and was as comfortable on a tractor or bulldozer as he was in an airplane. He said he would not have lived such a long life had he not had the cattle farm to tend to every day. It gave him a sense of purpose and a goal to achieve and he loved it dearly. Jim and Elaine enjoyed many adventurous travels during their 17 years together, many with Jim, Jr. and Kathy, including a big game hunt in Africa, a photographic safari in Tanzania, East Africa, several trips to Europe, climbing pyramids & touring ancient ruins in Tikal, Guatemala, touring the jungles & volcanoes of Costa Rica, visits to the Caribbean, Canada, and traveling throughout almost every state in the US including a great fishing & exploration trip in Alaska with son John and his family. Their last great trip before ill health prevented further travels was a wonderful two week tour of Paris and the Normandy Region of France with Jim, Jr. and Kathy. For over 20 years Jim’s favorite annual trip was to EAA Air Venture, the world’s largest air show in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Capt. Gore was a member of the Spalding County Kiwanis where he was a past President and served as secretary of the club for almost 30 years. He was a member of the Griffin Elks Club for 40 years, the Pike County Cattlemen’s Association, the Navy Helicopter Veterans Association, AOPA and EAA, Candler Field Museum, and for over 50 years he was an amateur radio operator with the call sign K4KCY. Since his retirement from the Navy he has owned and operated Gore Cattle Farm in Pike County. Survivors include his loving family: wife, Elaine Wilson Gore, three sons, Dr. James R. Gore, Jr. & Kathy of Griffin; Dr. John R. Gore & Angela of Augusta; and Joseph R. (Bob) Gore and Sheri of Griffin, and stepson, Brian McDaniel of Douglasville. He is also survived by six grandchildren: Dr. Kristin Gore Hess and her husband, Dr. Benjamin R. Hess of Tifton; Jessica Gore Flowers and her husband, Dayle of Alpharetta; Ann Elizabeth Gore of Athens; Johnathan, Lillie, and Thomas Gore of Augusta; and two step-grandchildren, Olivia McDaniel and Thomas McDaniel, and step-great grandson Liam, whom he adored, of Douglasville; one sister, Marilyn Gore Parkerson of Greensboro, and sisters in law, Elizabeth Wilson Jones of St. Simons Island, and Faye Fox Wilson of Griffin. Visitation for Captain Gore will be on Saturday, April 23, 2016 from 1:00pm until 3:00pm at Conner-Westbury Funeral Home. Following the visitation, a funeral service will be conducted in the chapel. Burial will be in the Gore Cemetery on the Gore Farm.

Captain James Gore

March 7, 1933 - April 21, 2016