Doris Nichols Gordon

Doris Nichols Gordon, beloved wife, mother, aunt, and grandmother, passed peacefully from this earthly life into the arms of her Lord and Savior on October 14, 2024 at the age of 95. She had filled her years with grace and gratitude, considering the needs of her family and of those around her even to her last days, blessing them with gentle kindness and creativity.

Born in Somerville, a suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, Doris was the youngest child and only daughter of Morrill A. Nichols, and his wife, Isabel Dearborn Nichols. [Her father, a World War I refugee, made a modest living as an interior decorator, hanging wallpaper, while growing vegetables in the family Victory garden. During the Great Depression, her mother found work outside the home to make ends meet, and with the onset of WWII, she led the neighborhood in shading the windows during mandatory blackouts. Growing up in the Great Depression, Doris and her two older brothers learned early on the realities of economic hardship, health epidemics, and military drafts on the family. With the loss of a younger sibling to smallpox, and nearly losing her oldest brother in the war efforts, these difficulties only drew the family closer together.

Music from the family piano and other instruments in the home all contributed to Doris developing a strong interest in music from her early childhood. Much to her parents’ surprise, she pursued the academic route, and earned a degree in music education from Boston University. To help pay for college, she borrowed money from her brother, while also working summers as a waitress, camp counselor, and seamstress in a hat shop. With her degree, she taught music. She recalled most fondly her years teaching children at a school for the handicapped.

Mom had never traveled outside of the Boston area until she married her beloved husband, Gary Gordon, a burgeoning physicist and the eldest son of medical missionaries to Brazil. The two met at Old South Church in Boston in a young adult fellowship group that met weekly for Biblical teachings, choir practice, and many group outings, one of which sparked a romance that led to their marriage in 1956. Shortly thereafter, the newlyweds visited Brazil where Gary had lived as a child. They traveled on remote roadways and makeshift bridges – an adventure of a lifetime she’d never forget, and only one of many more to come.

Doris and Gary raised a family of four sons and a daughter, beginning in New Jersey, and continuing in Maryland, in the quaint little town of Washington Grove, where they made their home for forty-six wonderful years. Their home became a haven not only for the immediate family, but for numerous others including nieces, nephews, and extended friends of family. Together, Doris and Gary filled the home with joy, orderliness, and beauty. Mealtimes included not only setting the table but lighting candles and singing the blessing. Countless guests enjoyed this welcoming table as well.

Doris was also an accomplished pianist and an excellent accompanist. Naturally, the piano was an important centerpiece of their home, and Doris taught all her children how to read music and encouraged each one in their own musical endeavors, accompanying on the piano for their various music recitals and competitions. She also played and taught guitar and recorder. She brought melodious harmony, rhythm, and tempo into the home and into the lives of many. Her children remember well their mother accompanying at the piano for family devotions beginning and ending with hymn singing.

Doris brought her musical talent and interests to Gaithersburg Presbyterian Church where the family began attending in 1969. She is probably most remembered for her many dedicated years of directing the youth handbell choir. Her hard work paid off as these young ringers learned to make beautiful music while learning the responsibility and commitment it takes to do so. Doris also enjoyed years of singing in the Chancel Choir at GPC, and was glad to be a substitute director or accompanist whenever the need arose.

Alongside her music career, Doris developed her lifelong artistic talents as well. She produced a gallery full of watercolor and oil paintings, pen and ink drawings, and pastel sketches from her home art studio. Her subjects consisted mostly of natural landscape, familiar landmarks, still life compositions, flowers, animals, and people, especially her children and grandchildren. She saw beauty in all that God created and found joy in glorifying her Creator by reflecting that beauty in her art.

Doris took art classes at Montgomery College to further her skills and broaden her horizons. One such class was ceramics which she enjoyed so much that she decided, in her mid-60’s, to embark on a new venture in pottery. The result of this decision still remains a great inspiration to her children and many others. Her husband, Gary, supported her every step of the way, including buying her a kiln and serving as cashier for her pottery shows. Her pottery was also inspired by nature. She enjoyed creating pottery that was beautiful but also useful. When her grandchildren were old enough, she took great pleasure in allowing them to sit at her wheel as she guided them in creating a simple pot.

She carried her art talents into the community, organizing the first annual art show of local artists’ work at McCathran Hall in the Grove. She was instrumental in getting an art ministry started at GPC which included helping the congregation to create a giant mobile of paper cut-out symbols of worship that hung for years in the main entrance.

Doris and Gary kept up with their children and grandchildren by traveling all over the country and as far as Ecuador and Thailand. In later years, they enjoyed trips to Scotland, Wales, and Germany. Doris also joined a tour to explore Greece, and even ventured out on her own to meet up with her daughter and son-in-law in London for a memorable time in Oxford and the Cotswolds. As grandchildren were added, Doris and Gary kept the family bonds alive with yearly reunions at Westmoreland’s retreat house in VA. They had the joy of celebrating their 50th and 60th wedding anniversaries with family and friends.

In 2015, Doris and Gary made the transition to Asbury Methodist Home where they were welcomed by a community of new friends as well as those they had known from GPC. She and Gary enjoyed many walks together and times with nearby family, still joining in on annual events in Washington Grove. After the passing of her beloved husband in 2017, Doris continued to bless others with her piano playing and artwork, and even volunteering her time to work with children in a special art project. Not only did she keep up with family members near and far, but made regular visits to Asbury residents who had failing health or had moved to assisted living. Even when at last she herself had to make such transitions, she remained concerned for the needs of others around her. In her final days, Doris asked repeatedly about her late husband, Gary. We trust that they are finally reunited in the embrace of their precious Lord and Savior. One of Doris’ favorite verses was from Psalm 90, “Teach us to number our days, that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

Doris was dearly loved and admired by her family, all to whom she was fully devoted. She will be deeply missed. Doris is joined by her late brothers, Ray and Paul, and is survived by her five children, their spouses, seven grandchildren, along with ten nieces and three nephews.

The memorial service will be held at 3:00 pm on Saturday, November 16, 2024 at Gaithersburg Presbyterian Church (610 S. Frederick Ave., Gaithersburg, Maryland). Reception to follow.

In lieu of flowers, please make a contribution to a cause close to Doris' heart, the Gaithersburg Beloved Community Initiative. Make checks payable to the “Asbury Foundation” and write “GBCI” on the memo line. Checks can be mailed to GBCI, 201 Russell Avenue, Gaithersburg, MD 20877. For online donations, go to: https://www.gaithersburgbelovedcommunity.org/general-6 Thank you.