GRAPEVINE -- Col. Richard "Dick" Gilson, USMC (ret), 64, passed away on Thursday, August 12, 2010.
Service: 10:30 am Monday, St. Laurence Episcopal Church, 519 N Kimball Rd, Southlake.
Visitation: 4 pm - 6 pm Sunday, J. E. Foust Funeral Home, 523 S Main St, Grapevine.
Interment: Dallas Ft. Worth National Cemetery, Dallas.
Colonel Richard Gilson, known as Dick to friends and family, was born on September 27, 1945, in San Francisco, CA. He graduated from Calhoun High School, Port Lavaca, Texas, in 1963 and attended Victoria College and the University of Houston. He left his studies at the University in 1967 to join the United States Marine Corps. He served actively for ten years, during which time he was a helicopter pilot in Vietnam. His active duty was followed by twenty-one years as a reserve officer. An active member of St. Laurence Episcopal Church, he served on the vestry and took part in many church ministries. Col. Gilson served on the Board of the Dallas Military Ball, where he was Chairman in 2007. He has served as the Commanding Officer of the Marine Corps Aviation Association and on the Board of the Veterans Memorial Air Park. Col. Gilson also gave generously of his time to the Wounded Warrior Program and Young Marines Association. His devotion to his family, church, Marine Corps, and community were well-known among his peers. He was preceded in death by his parents Olive and William "Capt" Gilson.
Memorials: Should friends desire, memorials may be given to the
Metroplex Military Charitable Trust, 6116 North Central Expressway, Suite 304, Dallas, TX. 75206
Survivors: Wife, Diane Sopko Gilson; son, Michael Gilson; daughter, Gina Shackleford; step-children, Kelli DeGeeter and husband John, Katherine Ellison and husband Michael, Travis Copeland, Anne Adoue and Meredith Adoue; grandchildren, Lauren, Logan, Natalie, Elise, Lizzy, Olivia, Brooks and Cade; brothers, Bill Gilson and wife Terry, Carl Gilson and wife Peggy, and sister Valerie Joan Gilson Koopmann.
