John Gregory Gordon, 74, of Old Lyme, CT, formerly of Madison, CT and Pleasantville, NY, died peacefully at home just as he would have wanted it with his two devoted children, Shannon and Shane by his side on March 26th after a brave battle with cancer.
Born in NYC on October 27, 1945 to John Edward Gordon and Joan Attridge Gordon, Greg was ‘Big’ brother to Jane Gordon of Chester, CT; Christopher Gordon of Florida; Jonathan Gordon of Essex CT; and pre-deceased by Richard J. Gordon. Greg was also pre-deceased by the Love-of-his-life Sherry Kay Standridge Gordon in 2003. He leaves behind his daughter, Shannon Lynn Gordon (Beverly Hills, CA), and his son Shane Gregory Gordon (Mar Vista, CA) and three beautiful grandchildren, Kaitlyn Slover (Brian), Marley Gordon, and Dylan Gordon, as well as 12 loving nieces and nephews. He leaves behind his 2nd wife, Kathleen Gordon.
Greg attended Archbishop Stepinac High School and Manhattan College where he excelled in sports, especially track and pole vaulting.
After college Greg enlisted in the U.S. Air Force. Captain J. Gregory Gordon was an Instructor and Aircraft Commander leading multi-aircraft formations during combat over Vietnam from 1969 to 1973.
After his military service, Greg followed in his father’s footsteps. He became a Special Agent for the FBI. Greg was undercover and flew air surveillance throughout his distinguished career.
Gregory served 27 years as a Special Agent with the FBI. After working organized crime in Philadelphia as a criminal investigator, Greg was asked to start up the FBI’s Aviation Unit. He is widely recognized as one of the ‘founding fathers’ of the FBI’s surveillance flight program. In1983 he transferred to the New Haven, CT Bureau. Greg worked many major criminal investigation cases during his career. He was in the air over Waco, Texas. He had the unusual task of being assigned as an Undercover Agent for most of his career and was part of a national group of Agents that produced key evidence against Drug Cartels, Organized Crime figures, Spies and Terrorists.
On 9/11, Greg, along with his partner Special Agent Ted Teahan, was tasked with taking surveillance photographs in NYC over ‘ground zero’. They flew to Washington, D.C. to deliver the photos to the FBI Headquarters. Greg recalled that the strangest and eerie memory he had as a pilot that day was that the sky was devoid of all aircraft. As they approached the Washington, D.C. airport, he radioed ahead for clearance to land and was given immediate authorization. He told us throughout all his years flying, that that had never happened before, or since.
Greg’s flying partner, Ted, describes the aftermath of our nation’s tragedy this way: Our most solemn flight was about a week after the towers went down. The only flights allowed in the whole country were law enforcement. Even fewer flights were allowed in the vicinity of the downed towers. We were tasked to take photos so our Evidence Response Team could figure out what they were going to need before they were assigned down there. We were on station for about 15 minutes. It was the quietest flight we ever had together or for that matter in my entire career. A few days later, we were asked to fly evidence from Connecticut to Washington, D.C. Again, no one but law enforcement was allowed in the sky. We were cleared direct from our home base to D.C. Virtually unheard of. When we landed at Reagan National it was like a scene out of the movies. No one, but no one, was there. There were quite literally tumbleweeds on the tarmac as we taxied.
Besides taking-to-the-sky, Greg enjoyed a round of golf, hiking, riding motor cycles, playing his guitar and filling his house with music and writing poetry. He enjoyed the shoreline beaches in NY and CT and could quite easily be classified as a beach-bum!
Greg’s favorite companions were his ‘other’ children: sheep dog Abby, and golden retrievers Cassidy, Jasper, and Bella. They loved Greg as much as he loved them.
Greg will be remembered and honored with a Celebration of Life gathering at a date to be announced.
Some get wings in heaven; Greg took his wings with him.
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