Eugene Quinton Gordon Jr.

Eugene Quinton Gordon, Jr. (“Quint”) was born on June 15, 1940, to Bernice and Eugene Quinton Gordon. Quint was born and raised in the Huntersville/Lindenwood section of Norfolk, VA. Quint lost his biological father when his father was killed in Okinawa two days before Quint’s fifth birthday in 1945. In 1947, Bernice married Joseph Mitchell Dunn. Through this union, Quint’s siblings, Michael, Carlton, Mishelle, and Darlene were born.

The racially segregated neighborhood in which Quint spent his early years had a tremendous impact on his life. Independent of income, which varied from those with little means to those who had more resources, the neighborhood’s power resided with strong and influential families. The neighborhood instilled a strong sense of togetherness, community and work ethic which inspired Quint to focus on self- improvement and positive living. He understood at an early age that family values and community mattered. He learned that education, hard work, preparation, persistence and hope could change his life for the better.

Athletics also played a key role in Quint’s young life as well as his later years. In 1947, when Jackie Robinson became the first African American to play major league baseball, Quint decided that he too would become a major league baseball player. Despite putting his heart and soul into everything from playing pick-up baseball games at the neighborhood field (he was a terrific fielder), to volunteering to clean up the stands and working as a vendor at the local ballpark, to serving as a batboy for the Negro League baseball teams that played at the ballpark, he couldn’t hit worth a lick. Being the practical thinker that he was, Quint tried a handful of sports, and in his junior year of high school, he finally found a sport where his skills and his passion aligned - tennis! Quint not only loved the game of tennis, but he excelled at it. One of the highlights of his tennis career was when he played against, and lost to, a young Arthur Ashe. Quint went on to win the 1956 Norfolk Junior Boys Singles and Doubles championships. Quint continued to enjoy his passion for tennis throughout his adult life. He played recreationally and enjoyed watching tennis matches. Quint passed his love of tennis onto his sons, who both played competitively from early childhood through high school, with Jeff playing in college for the University of Pennsylvania. He also shared his passion for tennis with other young adults through his work with the Mall Tennis Club in Washington, DC where he spearheaded a nationally-recognized junior development program. Quint was a member of the tennis club for 15 years, serving as its President from 1969-1977.

Quint’s intelligence and love of learning translated into great success in the world of academics. He was particularly gifted in the fields of math and science. During his senior year of high school, Quint participated in advanced calculus and physics courses, was inducted into the National Honor Society, selected as one of 15 students to “Who’s Who Among Student Leaders in the High Schools of America,” and was elected President of the Booker T. Washington High School Class of 1957. Quint enrolled in a Three-Two Program at Elizabethtown College in Elizabethtown, PA. where he would receive an AB in Liberal Arts from Elizabethtown after three years, and a BS in Engineering from Penn State, after two years. Deciding that engineering was not his calling, Quint changed his major to physics and transferred to Franklin and Marshall College where he was inducted into the Sigma Pi Sigma Physics Honor Society and graduated with an AB Degree in Physics in 1961.

Although Quint excelled in physics and was admitted into several prestigious graduate school programs, he didn’t feel passionate enough about the subject to commit to it full- time. He decided to pursue graduate studies in physics on a part-time basis and seek a career. More importantly, he decided to marry the love of his life, Idelle McDonald, whom he had known since third grade and was his childhood sweetheart. Idelle and Quint were married on August 12, 1961. They would soon be blessed with two sons, Joseph Mitchell Gordon and Jeffrey Eugene Gordon.

Quint moved his young family to Washington DC where he pursued a career in science with the US Naval Research Laboratory and Booz-Allen Applied Research before pursuing an interest in the social sciences. During the late 1960’s and 1970’s, Quint had a brief foray into politics when he unsuccessfully ran for a seat as a Representative of Ward 7 on the DC School Board; transitioned into a career in social sciences as Manager, Socio -Economic Systems at Tetra Tech, Inc.; served on a National Housing Policy Review Task Force at the U.S. Office of Housing and Urban Development (HUD); and graduated with a Master’s Degree in Mathematics from the Catholic University of America. In March 1976, Quint was selected as an Alfred P. Sloan Fellow in Executive Development at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), receiving a Master’s of Science Degree in management science from MIT in June 1977. Quint returned to HUD as the Director of the Office of Policy Development and Evaluation, an appointed position under President Jimmy Carter’s administration. He later worked in management and market research for International Harvester’s North American Agricultural Equipment Group for a few years before starting and operating his own management consulting firm in the early to mid-1980s. From 1984 through 1993, Quint held executive level operations positions in consumer products (Soft Sheen Products, Inc.) and biotechnology (Enzon, Inc.). During the mid-1990s, Quint advised officers and managers of publicly held and family-owned businesses. He helped companies in transition deal with growth and changes in markets and technology. Beginning in 2000, he partnered with Neighborhood Partners LLC which works with community residents to help rebuild distressed urban neighborhoods. Quint was especially proud of his success in collaborating with residents to build a sense of community in emerging neighborhoods and implementing educational programs to improve the lives of the residents and their families. Quint came back to the beginning and was able to use all that he was given and all that he learned, to give back to others. He cherished the opportunity to teach what he had been taught as a little boy growing up in the segregated South - that family values and community matter; that education, hard work, preparation, persistence and hope can change your life for the better.

Quint and Idelle relocated to Williamsburg, VA in June 2006 where he continued his important work with Neighborhood Partners and enhanced his involvement with the Hampton Roads African American Sports Hall of Fame (HRAASHF), a nonprofit organization that recognizes African Americans who have excelled in athletics and are connected to the Hampton Roads region of Virginia. Quint was a founding board member of HRAASHF in 1996 and served as Acting Chair. HRAASHF was an organization that Quint felt passionately about as it combined his love of sports, excellence and community.

Quint lived his life with precision, purpose and passion. He was a lover of family, community, friends, sports (especially tennis), education, history, numbers, art, music, dance, wine, peanuts (especially the ones in the shell), fashion, books, newspapers and crossword puzzles. He was intelligent, funny, kind, loyal and cool. He was most proud of his granddaughters, whom he loved dearly and whom he enjoyed spending time. His oldest granddaughter, Cammie, eloquently summed up his character in a letter she wrote him on his 79th birthday. She wrote…”Your sense of humor, quick wit, vast intelligence, and gentle nature are just a few aspects of your character that I and everyone else who knows you love and appreciate so dearly and to such great depth – as they have remained at the fore front of your character as time has passed. On your birthday, I want you to know that you mean the world to me. There are no state lines I wouldn’t cross or time differences I would let prevent me from spending time with you (whether it is in person or not). I am so proud of the person that you are and the person that you continue to become as you grow, learn and change in the coming future. Know that you are strong, safe, and loved in any place across time and space – but don’t forget to think of me when you sip your wine, play jazz on your Alexa, or track the Tulane sports teams because I will be thinking of you!”

Quint spent his last days at English Meadows. A beautiful campus where he was able to live his life on his own terms. He loved walking around the beautiful gardens, enjoying the serenity and peacefulness of the grounds. He charmed the residents and the staff, who loved him and treated him with compassion and respect.

He leaves behind his soulmate and love of his life, Idelle Gordon; his wife of 62 years. His two sons, Joseph Gordon (Susan Kyles) and Jeffrey Gordon (Kimberly Williams Gordon), two granddaughters, Cameron (Cammie) Gordon and Mia Gordon, his brothers Michael Dunn and Carlton Dunn, sisters, Mishelle Swift and Darlene Turner, his uncle, Denny Gordon (Patricia Thomas), and a host of extended family members and loved ones.

Memorial Donations:

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you make donations to either of the following organizations:

•Alzheimer’s Association: To donate visit act.alz.org/site/Donation2?df_id=39209&mfc_pref=T&39209.donation=form1. Under Honor Gift Type select In Memory Of and under Honoree Name please enter Eugene Quinton Gordon Jr. Please know that your gift in his honor will allow Quint’s legacy to continue research on a cure for Alzheimer’s and Dementia.

•St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital: To donate visit stjude.org/donate/donate-to-st-jude.html. On the donation page, check the box to Dedicate Your Gift in Honor or Memory. Then select In Memory of Someone’s Life. Dedicate your Gift to Eugene Quinton Gordon. He enjoyed working with children in his later endeavors and this gift will allow for St .Jude Children’s Research Hospital to continue their efforts in helping to treat and defeat childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases.