Gordon Lowell Platt

Portland, ME- Gordon L. Platt, 76, of Portland, Maine, died on Saturday February 13, 2021, from Lewy Body Dementia with parkinsonism. A stubborn Scot, he fought hard. His two daughters Lisa and Gina were with him at the end.

Gordon was born in Portland on June 20, 1944 to John Edward and Margaret Esther Morse Platt. Two days later, and just down the hall, his uncle was also born. Over the years, as a military brat he lived in Maine, Ohio, Texas, Maryland, Washington DC, and The Azores, where he graduated from Lajes High School in 1962. One of Gordon’s favorite homes was in Montigny-sur-Loing, France. He told many stories about his fondness for the old stone house in which he and his family lived. We are pretty sure his eternal love of baked goods came from this period in his life!

Gordon married Rosemary Troiano on September 2, 1967. Shortly after their first daughter Gina was born, Gordon accepted a position as buyer of junior apparel at Sears & Roebuck’s home office in New York City. He enjoyed this job immensely and met many interesting people while getting to travel around quite a bit. He commuted to NYC every weekday and once his second daughter Lisa was born would often bring the family for outings to the city on the weekends. This period of time made a huge impact on his daughters who continue to have a special love for NYC.

In 1977 Gordon moved his family back to Maine, starting a printing business in Lewiston. He threw himself into this endeavor and ran it successfully for many years. His girls would walk over from St. Dom’s to help out with various tasks when they could, and it really became a family business. Gordon was like a dad to his employees…getting to know their families and creating a warm work environment. The Shaker Village at Sabbathday Lake, where his great grandfather grew up, was one of his treasured clients during his years in the printing business. He retained a close friendship with the remaining brothers and sisters until his death.

During his time in Lewiston Gordon became a Eucharistic minister for St. Joseph’s Parish, worked on many downtown development projects, was part of Rotary, Lewiston Tomorrow, and the Chamber of Commerce. After closing “the shop,” as he called it, Gordon later went on to become a small business counselor for The Maine Small Business Development Center at University of Maine. He was responsible for York County and helped lead many new entrepreneurs to start successful businesses. Owing to the fact he grew up in a military family and dedicated 7 years to the Marine Corps Reserves, Gordon considered it a special honor to help Veterans start their own business. Because of his experience running his own business and helping others to start theirs, he was a consummate local shopper. If he could, Gordon always bought local. He would often stop in to one of the businesses he helped get off the ground to buy toys for his grandkids, or pies to bring to holiday gatherings. He retired from USM in his early 70s and focused on travel and family.

Gordon was very active during his life. He rode in the Trek Across Maine for 17 years, traveled to many air & space museums around the country, went to New Orleans several times to go to his beloved Preservation Hall, finally got to go to Scotland where his ancestors are from, and even spent a week on Mount Desert Rock participating in a program through College of the Atlantic (this was one of his favorite experiences and he spoke of it often). Twenty-five miles off the coast, on a rock, with a bunch of women and fresh seafood…what wasn’t to like?! He would attend the Highland Games every year, went to as many live concerts as possible, loved baking, and had a life-long love of planes. He could identify any plane just by the sound of its engine! The photo we chose for this obituary was taken in 2014 when he toured a B-17 in Trenton, Maine. You can see how happy it made him! ¬Gordon also had a stellar sense of humor, until the end. He always joked about the Swedish Swim Team coming over to visit him (e.g., I better shave if the SST is coming over!).

As “Lewy” took its toll and Covid hit, Gordon was taken out of his nursing home and brought to live with his daughter Lisa. As a nurse and his child, Lisa provided a loving, caring environment for him to spend his last months—eating his favorite food, listening to his beloved music, and surrounded by family until his last moment on Earth.

Gordon is survived by his ex-wife Rosemary Platt, with whom he stayed close friends until the end, and her partner Richard Leone; his daughter Gina; his daughter Lisa and her husband Joel Turgo; and his beloved grandchildren Sean, Liam, Michela Foley and their father Dan Foley. He also leaves behind his mother-in-law Anna Troiano, his siblings Janet (Platt) & Jim Wahlberg, John Platt, Jeffrey Platt, Sr., & Greg & Kathy Platt in addition to numerous nieces and nephews and his Uncle Bud (Merrill Morse), with whom he was very close from birth. Gordon was predeceased by his parents John & Esther Platt, his father-in-law Ralph A. Troiano, and his son-in-law Roman Blanke.

Visiting hours will be held from 4-7 pm on Tuesday, February 23, 2021, at Jones Rich & Barnes Funeral Home, 199 Woodford St. Portland, where a funeral service will be held at 10 am on Wednesday, February 24th. Burial will follow at Calvary Cemetery in South Portland.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to much-needed Lewy Body Dementia research at www.lbda.org/donate.