Richard Alan Gordon

Richard "Dick" Gordon was born on May 29, 1946, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and died peacefully on May 16, 2026. He is remembered as a man who measured his life not in accomplishments but in people: those he championed, those he raised, and those he drove 1,300 miles to see every summer.

Dick was raised in the loving home of his parents, Dr. David and Beatrice Gordon, in Belmont, Massachusetts, where he graduated from Belmont High School in 1964. He went on to earn his undergraduate degree from the University of Massachusetts in 1968, his law degree from Boston University School of Law in 1973, and later a Master of Social Work from the University of Tennessee. He served in the Massachusetts National Guard from 1969 to 1975.

Dick began his legal career at firms in Cambridge and Memphis, then established his own private practice in Memphis, Tennessee. Memphis was not always familiar and was sometimes lonely, but he chose to stay so that his children would always have a father's protection close by.

His record as an attorney was built on cases others would not take. Among his first cases after law school was the defense of a young man from Puerto Rico accused of murder. Dick's relentless pursuit of the truth took him to Puerto Rico to meet with the man's friends and family, and he proved his innocence, setting him free. Later, he successfully appealed a ruling before the Tennessee Supreme Court, returning a child to her biological mother after a long and thankless fight against heavily resourced institutions. He fought for those who could not fight for themselves, and he came to their rescue generally at no cost to them.

The most important thing to Richard was his family. Each year, he loaded his children into whichever vehicle he was driving at the time, first a GMC Jimmy and later a series of GMC conversion vans that proved more comfortable and more entertaining, and made the journey from Memphis to see family in Boston. Hotels were booked along the way, limited by his endurance and never by a schedule. The trip began the same way every time: he would start the ignition, turn around to face his children, adjust his Walmart plastic aviator tortoise-shell sunglasses, and announce: "Next stop, Mammoth Caves."

Dick had a restless, curious, and deeply logical mind. He was interested in people: what drove them, what shaped them, what connected them to one another. A conversation with him could become an interrogation, not out of aggression but out of genuine fascination with every person he encountered. He was outspoken and opinionated but never closed. He always left room for a good argument and room to change his mind.

He is predeceased by his former wife, Dr. Gail Thurmond, survived by his former wife, Dr. Martha Ann Nanney; his siblings, Marjorie and Peter Albin of Lexington and Howard and Carol Gordon of Sudbury; and his four children, Robert Gordon, Sara Gordon, Lara Gordon, and Alex Gordon. He is predeceased by his parents, Dr. David and Beatrice Gordon.

The family extends their deepest gratitude to the professional staff at Newbridge on the Charles, who provided compassionate care and companionship in his final years.

Dick pushed people to be their best. When they could not get there on their own, he was there to raise them up. He leaves behind a quiet kind of justice, the kind that accumulates over a lifetime of showing up for people who had no one else.

A private funeral ceremony will be held in accordance with his wishes. In lieu of flowers, please consider giving to a charity of your choice in his memory.