EFFIE MAE GORDON SORGEE, 84, died on Aug. 15,
1995 in Eastland, TX. She was born on May 12, 1911
in Texas to Albert and Lillian Mitchell Gordon. She
attended Ranger High School in the Class of 1931 at
Ranger, TX & married Vernon H. Sorgee, Sr. who died
in 1939. Their son was Vernon Sorgee, Jr.
SON: VERNON HYLIARD SORGEE, JR., 81 of Phoenix, AZ,
passed away on June 24, 2021, with burial in the
National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona.
He was a native of Ranger, TX, where he was born
on April l7, l940. A graduate of the University
of Texas, he majored in Physics and then received
his Master's in Civil Engineering in l977.
Vern was preceded in death by his parents, Vernon
Hilliard Sorgee and Effie Mae Sorgee (RHS-1931), and
his sister Gail Glover. He leaves his loving wife,
Carol of more than 30 years; daughter Verna Sorgee
Rhoades (Dustin); two stepchildren Cliff Mattice
(Melissa) and Kathryn Walker (Steve) and eight
grandchildren; Brisa Rhoades; Samantha Mattice;
Spencer Mattice; Paul Walker (Melissa); Ryan Walker
(Ruth Ann); Sarah Fullmer (Andrew); Spencer Walker
(Brittany); and Kelsey Hyde(Taylor). He has 20 great-
grandchildren. Vern will be missed by all for his
sense of humor, fun, and adventure.
In his early years, Vern graduated from Polytechnical
High School in Fort Worth, Texas, and Arlington State
College in l965. He was a master mechanic who could
take cars apart and put them back together effortlessly.
He was always a problem solver who enjoyed challenging
math or science problems that led him to get his degree
in Physics and to eventually work at NASA.
He worked for over 34 years as an environmental engineer
in the area of waste management, water quality, and
remediation of underground storage tanks. He managed
wastewater treatment projects at EPA in New Mexico and
Oklahoma and was responsible for the development of a
sediment survey of the Trinity River for the U. S. Army
Corps of Engineers. He specialized in wastewater manage-
ment while with Brown and Caldwell Consulting Engineers
and Environmental Compliance at Frito-Lay Inc. & Greyhound
Lines, Inc. and at various consulting firms. He owned his
own company in Phoenix, Arizona, Southwest Environmental
Consultants Inc., for over 20 years.
Vern is most proud of the time spent as an Associate
Engineer & scientific programmer for a major NASA contractor,
Lockheed Electronics Inc. As part of the NASA Program, he
was well versed in Fortran IV programming, Univac computers,
and Calcomp plotters. He was part of the Apollo Program
when they landed on the moon in July l969.
Vern's gift of humor and his storytelling captivated his
family and friends. His favorite pastimes included watching
movies especially old westerns or Clint Eastwood. He liked
to fish for hours and always asked others to join him. He
was a passionate sportsman, a camper and he loved music by
Willie Nelson, Bob Marley, and The Beach Boys. Most of all,
he found great joy in helping other people as often as
possible.
Vernon spent l965-l969 in the U.S. Army. In Vietnam, he was
assigned to Company A, 2nd Battalion (mechanized), 22nd
Infantry, 25th Infantry Division (Tropic Lightning).
Lieutenant Sorgee, an operations officer in the ROTC
division of the reserve forces office at Army headquarters,
was cited for Meritorious Service in connection with ground
operations against hostile forces in Vietnam on July l968
and November l968 with Bronze Stars. His other decorations
include a Silver Star awarded in April l968 for Gallantry
in Action. He was a member of Tau Beta Pi, Chi Epsilon,
WPCF, and AWWA.