Sara C Gordon

Sara Chaifetz Gordon, age 98, formerly of Silver Spring, MD, died on Tuesday, December 11, 2012, in Allentown, PA. The youngest child of a Jewish jewelry designer and manufacturer, Abraham Chaifetz, she lost her father at age 12, just before the Great Depression. Those difficult times doomed the jewelry business and their house in Flatbush. Despite the grim financial situation, Sara graduated from James Madison High School and entered Brooklyn College at the age of 15. Graduating with a degree in English in 1934, she became a social worker in the neighborhood near the Brooklyn Navy Yards. On a vacation at Tamiment in the Poconos, a young engineer (who later became a patent attorney), Herman Lewis Gordon, was captivated by Sara’s charm and remained in love with her through 52 years of marriage.

The youngest of their three children had a language handicap, motivating Sara to study speech therapy at the University of Maryland. She worked as a speech therapist in the Prince George’s County school system and was active in the Montgomery County Language Handicapped Association. Later she directed senior adult activities at the JCC of Greater Washington. Ever an art enthusiast, she volunteered as a docent at the Museum of American Art in Washington, DC. She also volunteered as an ESL tutor. In her 50s, she started to paint, becoming skilled in Chinese watercolor techniques. She was also an avid gardener.

She cared devotedly for her husband for 8 years through his decline and death from Parkinson’s disease in 1992. She is survived by her daughter, Stephanie G Phillips, PhD, two sons, Richard E Gordon, MD, and Joel J Gordon, seven grandchildren, and nine great grandchildren.

Graveside services will be held at King David Memorial Garden, 7400 Lee Highway, Falls Church, VA on Thursday, Dec 13, 2012 at 10 AM.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to one of these organizations which Sara supported: PLAN OF MD-DC, Anti-Defamation League, American Red Cross, Autism Speaks, Capital Area Food Bank, Easter Seal Society, Habitat for Humanity Intl, Hebrew Home of Greater Washington, Jewish Council for the Aging, JCC of Greater Washington, Jewish Federation of Lehigh Valley, JNF, Jewish Social Service Agency, National Abortion Rights Action League, ORT, SOME (So Others Might Eat), UNICEF, Wheaton Volunteer Rescue Squad, or Whitman Walker Clinic, Inc.