Genevieve W. Gore

Year Honored: 1989

Birth: 1913 - 2005

Born in: Wyoming

Biography

Though she started out studying elementary education, Genevieve W. Gore quickly switched to a business degree. She graduated from Henniger Business College in 1935, and married Wilbert ‘Bill’ Lee Gore that same year. The couple had five children. On their 23rd wedding anniversary, the Gore’s took a risk and started W.L Gore & Associates, Inc. from the basement of their Newark Home.

The company has a unique management philosophy that people will thrive in a “nurturing free-enterprise system.” Gore worked in a number of roles for the company, including corporate secretary, treasurer, director of several overseas operations, and as she was self-proclaimed lover of the outdoors, Gore frequently tested early products like GORE-TEX while backpacking or mountain climbing. After her husband’s death in 1986, Gore led the company, and remained involved and active on the board of directors until her own death in 2005.

Gore was also on the Board of Directors for the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce, the Chesapeake Bay Girl Scout Council, Winterthur Museum, Newark Senior Center, and the Goldey-Beacom College Board of Counselors. She helped found the Delaware Community Foundation, and she and her son funded the construction of Gore Hall at the University of Delaware.

Gore was awarded the University of Delaware Medal of Distinction (1983); elected to the Delaware Business Leaders Hall of Fame alongside her husband (1991); and inducted into the Junior Achievement National Hall of Fame (2003). Upon her death, the Delaware News Journal wrote, “she took a genuine interest in people, and her enthusiasm and warmth spawned a legion of devoted followers and friends. She embodied the values at the heart of W.L Gore’s & Associates’ unique corporate culture, most notably the belief in the inherent potential of every individual… Mrs. Gore’s energy, natural charm and smile endeared her to everyone she touched.”
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Sources and Additional Readings

Genevieve W. Gore Obituary (2005) The News Journal. Legacy.com. (n.d.). Retrieved January 10, 2022, from https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/delawareonline/name/genevieve-gore-obituary?pid=146153409

Improving lives through Advanced Materials. Gore. (n.d.). Retrieved January 10, 2022, from https://www.gore.com/

In Memoriam Genevieve W. Gore. (n.d.). Retrieved January 10, 2022, from https://www1.udel.edu/PR/UDaily/2005/dec/gore012105.html