Ira Dolph Gaines passed away peacefully on April 6, 2024. He was born to Ira Jefferson Gaines and Isabelle Hicks in Marlin, Texas on July 11, 1931.
He spent his youth in Waco and moved to Houston, Texas in his teen years attending Lamar High School, and upon graduation attended the University of Houston earning a Bachelor of Science degree in 1957 and a Bachelor of Architecture in 1958.
He married Mary Della Minor in 1955 and they had two children Diane Lynn Gaines and Dolph Lee Gaines. He enjoyed fishing and hunting all throughout his life, as well as collecting antique pistols from the WWII era. He was a member of Houston Gun Collectors Association for many years.
He was very creative and always had hobbies and enjoyed lifelong friendships throughout the years.
He is survived by his son Dolph Lee Gaines and his wife Yolanda Garcia Gaines, his daughter Diane Lynn Zimmerman and her husband Joseph C. Zimmerman III, and her son Michael Chance Nordman, and stepsons Parker Zimmerman and Neil Zimmerman and their families. He was a force and will be greatly missed.
