Vera Julia Gordon, 88, died peacefully at home on Friday, August 17 following a lengthy illness. Ms. Gordon was born in Brooklyn on February 24, 1930, and was a lifelong resident of the Borough. Vera was the daughter of Julia Maxwell Gordon and R. Bruce Gordon. She attended Hunter High School, received her BA in English Literature from Hunter College (Phi Beta Kappa), her MA from Columbia University, and was ABD at NYU. Vera taught English at Washington Irving High School where she finished her career after serving many years as their Assistant Principal. When she retired, she purchased a lovely home in Victorian Flatbush, traveled extensively, volunteered at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens as a Garden Guide and worked the BBG's annual plant sale, took many art classes and practiced Tai Chi there. At Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church, she was on the Holiday Decorating Committee, the Library Fellowship, and taught English as a Second Language classes. Vera was a gifted botanical watercolorist, an enthusiastic bird watcher and gardener, and an avid reader, knitter and embroiderer. Ms. Gordon was a member of The Big Apple Knitters Guild and The Embroiderers Guild of America. Vera loved all things Celtic, ginger ice cream, classical music and opera, life in her city, summers in Maine, her many dear friends, books, travel, nature, science, owls of every sort, and most of all her family. Vera Julia Gordon is survived by her many cousins who will dearly miss her stories, her quick wit, insatiable curiosity and her generous big heart.
Visiting hours will be Tuesday August 21st from 2 - 5 and again on Tuesday from 7 - 9 at Joseph G. Duffy Funeral Home, 255 9th Street, Brooklyn, NY 11215. The graveside service will be at Green-wood Cemetery on Wednesday morning at 11:00 am
In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be given in Vera's memory to:
The Brooklyn Botanical Garden or the Madison Avenue Presbyterian Church.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.9.5