Denton County officials have announced the passing of Brenda Gormley, the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Coordinator, at age 70 on January 8, 2026.
Gormley began her involvement with CERT as a volunteer before joining the Denton County Office of Emergency Management in 2018. She played a key role in building and leading the county’s CERT team, which has trained thousands of residents for emergency situations.
“Brenda spent many years in service to others – the epitome of a public servant,” said Denton County Judge Andy Eads. “She was committed to developing the CERT program, which garnered national recognition and even earned invitations to the White House in 2009 and 2011 as one of the top performing CERT programs in the U.S. Brenda will be greatly missed as a vital part of our Denton County family.”
Gormley started developing Denton County’s CERT program in 2005 to help Hurricane Katrina evacuees. After becoming a full-time staff member in January 2018, she expanded membership from just over ten people to more than five hundred active members. She also served as secretary for the Denton County VOAD Citizens Corps Council.
Her contributions were recognized by several organizations: In 2012, she was named one of sixteen Champions of Change for Disaster Preparedness by the White House; in 2016, Governor Greg Abbott presented her with the National Service “Make a Difference” Award for her work with Denton County; and she received other honors including being awarded the first Jack Colley Award for volunteerism in 2011.
“We lost an important member of our team,” said Samantha Taylor, Director of the Denton County Office of Emergency Management. “We honor her for her service not only to Denton County but to the many people whose lives she touched.”
Beyond emergency services, Gormley held leadership roles such as chairing regional Citizen Corps Councils and helping develop training curriculum used statewide. Her professional background included safety coordination roles at Southwestern Bell Telephone, AT&T, and Lucent Technologies.
Commissioner Bobbie J. Mitchell commented on Gormley’s dedication: “I have known Brenda for a number of years, since my time on the Lewisville City Council,” said Precinct 3 Commissioner Bobbie J. Mitchell. “She has always been dedicated to serving both the community and the county as well as the people who live here. Our thoughts and prayers are with her family during this time of need.”
Community members can support Gormley’s family through donations organized at https://mealtrain.com/n93ze7.
Visitation is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., Friday, January 16 at Mulkey-Mason Funeral Home in Lewisville. The family requests that donations be made to the American Heart Association instead of flowers. A Celebration of Life event will take place during the week of January 26th; details will be announced later.
In related statistics about Denton County schools during recent years: The number of students considered at-risk declined slightly by 0.1% during the 2023-24 school year—totaling approximately sixty-three thousand four hundred thirty-six students (https://tea.texas.gov/). Despite this small decrease, local schools ranked tenth highest statewide for total enrollment among at-risk students (https://tea.texas.gov/). Demographically within county schools that same year, white students formed thirty-seven point eight percent (62,808), while Hispanic students represented thirty point two percent (50,154) (https://tea.texas.gov/).
