William Abbott

Services for William Gordon Abbott, age 86, will be on Saturday, Jan. 12, at 2 p.m. at First United Methodist Church in Hobbs, N.M., with Rev. Steve Chappell officiatshy;ing. Mr. Abbott died Jan. 9 of congestive heart failure.

Mr. Abbott was born in St. Charles, Ill., March 31, 1921, to Dr. Gordon M. and Molly Abbott.

He attendshy;ed Oregon Illinois High School, the University of Illinois and graduated from the University of Texas with a B.S. in mechanical engineering in 1948.

Mr. Abbott volunteered for the Army Air Corps in October 1941, before Pearl Harbor, and then served, in the U.S. Air Force in World War II as a fighter pilot flyIng P-40s in Africa, Sicily and Italy, earnshy;ing the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal and the Purple Heart after flying 100 missions.

He met Margaret Ann Bell in Vernon, Texas, as a flying cadet in 1941. They were marshy;ried in Vernon on Sept. 12, 1944, and located to Hobbs, N.M., in 1951 after several moves with Amerada Petroleum in Texas. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserves in 1961.

Mr. Abbott was president of Agua, Inc. and Petro Thermo Corporations, retiring in 1986. He was a member of the Hobbs First United Methodist Church since 1951. He was a Rotarian and a Paul Harris Fellow. Some of his other memberships were A.I.M.E., New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, New Mexico Tech Research Foundation, 79th Fighter Group and P-40 Pilots Association. He enjoyed attending the reunions of his pilot groups.

Mr. Abbott served 10 years on the Hobbs City Water Board. Gov.'s Mechem 1961, Cargo 1967 and King 19711979, 1985 appointed him to the Board of Regents at New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology in Socorro, where he received an Honorary Doctor of Engineering after serving a total of 41 years. Throughout his career he was a licensed professional engineer in Texas and New Mexico.

Mr. Abbott is survived by his wife, Margaret Ann; a daughshy;ter, Suzanne Reaves and husshy;band Michael of Denton, Texas; a son, Robert W Abbott and wife Kathy of Albuquerque; a son, James T. Abbott of Los Angeles, Calif.; and his grandchildren, Rob and Mark Reaves of Dallas, Terrell Abbott of Austin and Molly Abbott of Albuquerque; a brother, Robert J. Abbott and wife Bonnie of DeKalb, Ill.; two nephews, Mark and Greg Abbott; and a niece, Debbie Chilton. His parents, one brother, and one sister precedshy;ed him in death.

Mr. Abbott will be in state at Chapel of Hope Friday from 8 am - 8 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. - noon.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial conshy;tributions may be made to Good Samaritan Village, 1701 N. Turner, Hobbs, NM 88240; First United Methodist Church, 200 E. Snyder; or New Mexico Tech, P.O. Box 677, Socorro, NM 87801.
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Visitation

Chapel of Hope
3321 N. Dal Paso
Hobbs, NM  88240
Friday, January 25, 2008
8:00 am to 8:00 pm

Service

Memorial

First United Methodist Church
200 E. Snyder
Hobbs, NM  88240
Saturday, January 12, 2008
2:00 pm

Cemetery

Prairie Haven Memorial Park
2201 E. Stanolind
Hobbs, NM  88240