Brenda Sue Gilmore

Brenda Sue Gilmore, 76, passed away peacefully on Thursday September 4, 2025, surrounded by her loving family. Born on January 4, 1949 in Tuscaloosa, AL, Brenda was a dedicated wife, mother, grandmother and great-grandmother.

Brenda was a blue-eyed little spitfire and only child of Bill and Mary Pruett. As a child, she developed a love of classic cars and motorcycles, earning her nickname “Beepsy”. (She fondly and proudly told stories of how at a young age anyone could ask her what kind of car they were pointing at and she could, without hesitation, provide the make/model and year.) Brenda also had a fond love of music, both instrumental and vocal and at the ripe age of 4 discovered her own vocal talent while performing “How Much is that Doggy in the Window” on her front porch. She would sit on her swing for hours and serenade the neighbors.

Just prior to starting primary school her small family of 3 moved to El Paso, TX. This move inspired her love of westerns and for Christmas one year she asked for cowboy boots and hat, a revolver and belt. Foreshadowing her own love story, she told her mother she would one day marry a cowboy who owned a gas station.

In Jr High, she met her dear friend Nancy (Larkin) Comstock, who affectionately became known as “Aunt Nancy” many years later. They remained inseparable and graduated with honors from Andress High School in 1967.

Through her childhood years in El Paso, her father (Bill Pruett), who learned to fly in the US Navy as an aircraft technician and obtained his private license after leaving the Navy in 1945, would rent a small plane and fly the two of them East landing at the Salt Flat CAA (later FAA) air strip located directly behind the Salt Flat Cafe & Gas Station. On occasion they would stop in for a bite to eat and Bill developed a friendship with the owners, Ben & Isabel Gilmore. This became a traditional family activity outing for several years.

In 1968, Brenda met Joyce Gilmore when she was visiting her neighbors, Don & Ina Rae Young who were family friends of the Gilmore’s. Instantly, Joyce knew that Brenda and her oldest brother, Donald E. Gilmore, would be a perfect match and she could not have been more accurate. Don fell head over heels in love at first sight and Brenda’s prophetic foreshadowing as a young girl came to fruition. Don was indeed a “cowboy who owned a gas station”.

Brenda married her cowboy in a small ceremony on July 18, 1971. This union between Don and Brenda would spawn an affectionate family rivalry. Don, was a proud graduate of Texas A&M (Fightin’ Texas Aggie Class of ‘64-WHOOP) and Brenda, originally from Alabama with strong family ties to The University of Alabama (Roll Tide) would go on to graduate from The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP… “hiss”) earning a Bachelor of Science in Education. She would go on to have an extensive teaching career primarily specializing in Chemistry and Biology but later expanding to Physics and other subjects. Her teaching career would extend into a 30+ year journey working for numerous districts including Dell City ISD, Ysleta ISD, Belton ISD, Killeen ISD and Montgomery ISD. Brenda’s passion for teaching and outgoing personality touched the lives of countless students. She dedicated her career to engaging with her students and promoting her love of Science by creating an energetic, hands-on learning experience in her lab and mentoring a group of students through the High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS) program at Johnson Space Center before retiring in 2011. She would later rejoin the Education system after 10 years of retirement working at Shoemaker High School in Killeen, Tx where she had to abruptly and unexpectedly take a permanent leave of absence in April 2025 due to her terminal illness.

Brenda is preceded in death by her spouse, Donald Edwin Gilmore (June 28, 1942- July 2, 2005); her parents, Wilford Austin (Bill) and Mary Lou Pruett; best friend Nancy Ann (“Aunt Nancy”) Comstock (1998).

Brenda is survived by her 3 children: Christopher James (CJ/Jamie) Gilmore and spouse Melissa Gilmore; Donald William (Bill) Gilmore; Donnelle Danese Breeden and spouse Paul Hamilton (Brad) Breeden V; 3 grandchildren: Taryn Brooke Breeden and fiancée Timothy Ray Robinson; Paul Hamilton (Bo) Breeden VI and Donald Edwin (Donnie) Breeden; 2 great grandchildren: Kayden Ray Robinson and (due in October) Sadie Sue Robinson; 2 God children: Cindy Chitwood and Bobby Chitwood.

Services for Mrs. Brenda Sue Gilmore will be held on Saturday, September 20, 2025 at 2 pm at Memorial Funeral Chapel, 2901 Texas Avenue South, College Station, TX 77845.

Brenda will be laid to rest with her loving husband at a later date in the Hammack Family Cemetery.

Charitable donations can be made in memory of Brenda Sue Gilmore to Full Life Foundation for Lynch Syndrome at fulllifefoundationls.org