Gordon Walker Bawden

Gordon’s father was in construction and the family moved often, living in Spokane, Santa Barbara, the Tri Cities (while Gordon was involved with construction of Hanford facilities during the war), Minneapolis, and Kentucky.

Gordon graduated from Spokane’s Lewis and Clark High School in 1955 and then joined NROTC attending Stanford, graduating in 1959 with a degree in Construction Engineering. He served four years active duty in the Navy and an additional four years in the reserve, with an honorable discharge as a Lieutenant. In the Navy he served on the USS Coral Sea and with the shore-based Civil Engineering Corps.

Gordon married Elizabeth Bawden in 1959, they raised two sons; Greg and Pete. They lived in the Bothell/Kenmore area for many years.

Gordon career was in construction, first with Guy F Atkinson (projects in LA and then Seattle, including construction of portions of I-5 and the 405/522 interchange in Woodinville), then SS Mullen (the South Bellevue Interchange), Mowat Construction, and then Humphrey Construction. In his retirement he kept busy with a wide variety of community-focused projects including Habitat for Humanity, the Edmonds Unitarian Universalist Congregation, North Helpline in Lake City, Camp Parsons, and helping his sons with many home construction and remodeling projects.

Gordon and Liz have been members of the Edmonds Unitarian Church since 1968. They enjoyed living on Lake Washington, boating, travel, and maintaining connections with family. Ever the engineer, Gordon was a master of creating gingerbread houses with his grandchildren.

Gordon took his responsibilities seriously but also enjoyed varied and busy personal activities including boating, water skiing, skiing, and travel.

Gordon was diagnosed with Lewy Body Dementia in 2023 and died from complications from this illness on November 1, 2024.

He is survived by his wife Liz, sons Greg (Julie) and Pete (Summer), sister Ann (Harry), grandchildren, nieces and nephews, cousins, and Maria and her family in Arizona.

The family will hold a small informal gathering to honor his memory on Dec 28th in Bothell. Family and friends are welcome to reach out to Liz for details.

In lieu of flowers the family suggests donations to the Edmonds Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 8109 224th Street SW, Edmonds, WA 98026