William "Bill" Grimes Goree

William “Bill” Grimes Goree, of Fort Collins Colorado, passed away June 20, 2025 at age 97 after a short illness. Bill was born July 27, 1927 in his family’s one-bedroom house in rural Palo Pinto County, Texas He was preceded in death by his parents William Arlin Goree and Viola Grimes; his siblings Raymond Goree, Patsy Goree Porter, and Jo An Goree; his first wife Ruth Wilson Goree and second wife Fern Dannelley Goree. He is survived by his sons Paul Goree of Fort Collins, Colorado and John Arlin Goree of Iowa City, Iowa; and his grandchildren Katherine Goree and Martin Goree. Bill’s family moved to the lower Rio Grande Valley when he started fourth grade. When he graduated from sixth grade, he was surprised to discover only then that his given name was not Billy. Bill graduated from high school in Laredo Texas at age 16, and started Howard Payne College in Brownwood, Texas, travelling there from Laredo by hitchhiking. He graduated from Howard Payne at age 19. He then moved to Fresno, California where he worked on his uncle’s farm. Bill was a loving and devoted husband, father and grandfather. He married Ruth after they graduated from Howard Payne, and they started a family near Fresno, where he became the first pastor of a newly organized Baptist church. Bill later moved to Texas, where he worked as a “doodlebugger” on a seismic exploration crew. That crew moved among oil fields in Colorado, Utah, and Nevada, which meant frequent moves for his young family, leading him to settle in 1956 in Cortez, Colorado, where he became a teacher, which was his profession thereafter. He also taught in nearby Mancos and Dolores Colorado, and received a Master of Arts from Adams State College in Colorado in 1969. Later he taught in Artesia, New Mexico and then finished his teaching career in Odessa, Texas. He sometimes came to school dressed convincingly as Abe Lincoln, with hat and beard. Bill was an enthusiastic member of many organizations. As a private pilot, he helped found a flying club in Cortez Colorado, and he was active many years as a Gideon. After the death of Ruth, Bill married their mutual friend from college, Fern. They were members of the First Baptist Church of Midland, Texas. Bill had a passion for ministry, which he fulfilled in his early retirement by organizing a mission in Santa Elena, Mexico. That mission work was followed by tours of service, together with Fern, for the Southern Baptist International Mission Board in the cities of Francistown and Selebi Phikwe, in Botswana. A memorial service will be held 2 PM Saturday, September 6, in the chapel at Wiley Funeral Home, Granbury, Texas. Interment of ashes will follow in the Granbury Cemetery.

William "Bill" Grimes Goree

July 20, 2025