Gordon L Ransom

Gordon was born in Baltimore, MD, on October 30, 1939, to Roland and Dorothy (Gaebler) Ransom. He had two siblings: his late elder sister Marjorie Detamore and younger brother Robert M. Ransom. Gordon was married to his first wife Kathryn Downing Ransom in 1963, and had his second nuptials to Lindy Chew Ransom in 1989.

Gordon is a former U.S. Marine who served from 1957-1963 as a sniper with the third Marine Division, Guard Detachment, Naval Base, Yellow Water, Florida; and as a Marine Security Guard assigned to the U.S. Embassy, Tel Aviv, Israel. From 1969-1973, he served as a public safety advisor to the National Police of South Vietnam, providing law enforcement expertise at both the provincial and national levels. Gordon also served as a law enforcement officer with the Howard County, Maryland Police Department and the Miami-Dade Police Department. He worked as a private investigator for three years in Maryland before entering law enforcement.

From 1980-1996, Gordon served with the U.S. Agency for International Development Office of Inspector General. He was posted to Nairobi, Kenya, as the regional inspector general for investigations from 1980-1984. In this capacity, he was responsible for administrative and criminal investigations throughout East Africa. Subsequently, he was tapped to be the Deputy Assistant Inspector General for the Office of Investigations supervising all overseas regional offices.

Following his retirement from USAID in 1996, Gordon and his wife Lindy traveled full-time in a motorhome around the U.S. Seeing his own country by RV had been Gordon’s enduring passion, and he would embark upon a similar adventure again from October 2011-December 2012.

Gordon is survived by his wife Lindy; three children Gregory, Grace, and Karen; daughter-in-law Jessica Ransom; son-in-law Alessandro Seidita; and grandchildren Dominic and Samantha Seidita, and Madeleine and Benjamin Snider.

A memorial celebration of Gordon’s life will be held at the Rustico Restaurant at 827 Slaters Lane, Alexandria, VA 22314, telephone 703-224-5051, on Monday, December 9, from 1700-2100. Friends and family will have an opportunity to share appreciable tales and yarns (keep it civil . . . or not) as far as their friendship and association with Gordon is concerned.

A gravesite interment service will be held the next day Tuesday, December 10, at 1100 at the Quantico National Cemetery in Triangle, Prince William County, VA. Following interment, a reception will be held at Charlie and Bel Vann’s residence in Falls Church, VA.

Donations in lieu of flowers may be made to The American Lung Cancer Association (The Gateway for Cancer Research) at http://www.demandcurestoday.org/landing/lung/?gclid=CPjjw_Lp9roCFXBo7AodU0cAMA, or The Wounded Warrior Project at https://support.woundedwarriorproject.org/default.aspx?tsid=676&campaignSource=CDRO&source=BS13065.