H. Gordon Shields

H. Gordon Shields died November 5, 2024. He was born in in 1932 in Seattle, Washington, to Murray William and Helen Brock Shields. He grew up in Fairbanks, Alaska, and after World War II, the family moved to Florida. He graduated from Gainesville High School and the University of Florida. He was very involved in school activities in both high school and university. At the University of Florida he majored in industrial and mechanical engineering and was a member of the Sign Chi fraternity (Life Loyal Sig) and the Florida Blue Key Honor Fraternity, among others.

After graduation, he worked for a short time as a test engineer for General Electric Company in Louisville, Kentucky. He then entered pilot training in the U.S. Air Force as a pilot on active duty and in the flying reserves for more than seven years after receiving his silver wings (Senior Pilot). After being released from active duty the first time, he worked as a process engineer for Aero-Jet General on the Navy’s “Polaris” submarine launched IRBM, and as a development engineer for Thiokol Chemical on the Air Force’s “Minuteman” ICBM.

He married Sharon Reneer in 1959, and four children were born to the couple. The four children include Shauna, Scott (Kimberly), Karin Myers (Mark), and Mark (Cami). Seventeen grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren also survive him. In addition, his brother Roger, Sharon, the wife of deceased brother Lamar, and Janet, the wife of his deceased brother, Clinton, and their families also survive him.

Shields received a J.D. degree from the University of Utah, and an L.L.M. degree from The George Washington University. In 1966, the family moved to Arizona. He received his fifty-year certificate as an active member of the State Bar of Arizona in 2019. He was admitted to practice before all Arizona state and federal courts, the Courts of Appeal for the Ninth and Federal Circuits, the United States Patent Office, and the Supreme Court of the United States. He practiced intellectual property law in Phoenix and Mesa before retiring. Shields was one of the founding attorneys of the Intellectual Property Section of the State Bar of Arizona and served as chairman of the Section.

He was a lifelong member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, and over the years he held many branch, ward, and stake callings, including an ordinance worker in the Mesa Temple.

Services will be held at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints building at 1455 North Harris Drive, Mesa, Arizona, on November 30 at 10:00 a.m. A viewing will not be held, but the family would be pleased to welcome friends and family from 9:00 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.

If you are unable to attend the services, please click on the following link to livestream the service: https://www.youtube.com/live/xTOxhPuy1iU

Arrangements by Bunker’s Garden Chapel, www.bunkerfuneral.com. Should this obituary appear anywhere but bunkerfuneral.com, please check our website for accurate details and service information.