Donor Stories
The Gorham Family Funds
Frank D. and Marie K. Gorham Fund and The Marie Kelly Gorham Endowment Fund for Women's Issues
Frank Gorham was born in St. Louis, Missouri in 1921. After graduating from the University of Missouri in 1943 with a Bachelors Degree in Geology, he joined the U.S. Army and served in the Italian Campaign of World War II. His performance as a ski trooper earned him a promotion to Captain and the Silver Star for bravery. Upon completion of his military service, his best friend and fellow ski trooper, Joe Downer, suggested they visit the family of his close friend Daniel T. Kelly (Bud) in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Little did Frank know he was about to meet the love of his life.
The prominent Kelly family of Santa Fe ran a retail/wholesale business, Gross Kelly & Co. Daniel and Margaret Kelly welcomed Joe and Frank into their home on Palace Avenue. Bud's sister Marie, nicknamed Yei, was there to meet her brother's guests for what would become a serendipitous occasion.
Frank married Yei in 1947 and whisked her off for a honeymoon. The first night of what would become a 60-year marriage was spent camping in Frank's station wagon dining on K-rations. Fortunately, the trip improved from there; a night in Taos was followed by the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.
Ten days later, the couple was off to Quiri Quiri, Venezuela where Frank began his career as a Petroleum Geologist with Creole Petroleum Co. Yei was stunned when she first saw the company living quarters - there were jaguars in the yard and tarantulas in the oven! Concerned friends back home sent Yei china on which to dine and drapes to cover the bare windows.
After a few months, Yei found herself pregnant. When the layette sent from her mother-in-law was delayed in Miami customs, Yei had had enough; she was going home. Boarding a Pan Am flight, the mother-to-be flew in her 8th month of pregnancy from Puerto Rico to Miami to New York and finally back to New Mexico where she gave birth to Frank III. Frank Jr. returned to Santa Fe to escort his young son and wife back to Quiri Quiri. Soon, Yei was pregnant again. It was time to return to the States. Frank accepted a position in Denver with Pure Oil Co. and then with PNM's wholly owned subsidiary in Albuquerque, Pubco Development.
The company flourished in its endeavor to discover oil and gas and soon created and spun off a new division of the company, Pubco Petroleum. Business was great. Frank rose through the administrative ranks to become President of Pubco, growing its operations to seven other states. The business was so successful that it was purchased by T. Boone Pickens' Mesa Petroleum in 1973, and Frank was out of a job. Frank decided it was time to pursue natural gas and oil exploration on his own, which he did successfully for the next 25 years. Frank Sr. passed away in 2001.
Life at home had been growing as well. Frank and Yei were now the proud parents of five boys: Frank Jr., Daniel, Timothy, Robert and Mark.
In 1989, the Gorham's made their first contribution to the Albuquerque Community Foundation's Administrative Endowment Fund. They followed that gift year after year with substantial gifts to the Impact Fund to support the community's most pressing needs. Yei Gorham and her children continue their legacy of giving today. In 2006, they established the Marie Kelly Gorham Endowment Fund for Women's Issues, and in 2008, they created the New Mexico Symphony Orchestra Growth Fund. The family recently funded the Gorham Family Community Conference Room at the Community Foundation, which is available for use at no cost to nonprofit organizations in the Albuquerque metro area.
