Gordon R Birt

Gordon Rhea Birt, age 75, of Greencastle, went to be with the Lord, October 21, 2013. He was born November 6, 1937 in Greencastle, to Harold and Virginia (Myers) Birt. He married his first and only love, Shirley (Clark) Birt on November 23, 1955 and she survives. Gordon had worked at Gardner’s Food Market as a teenager, and then was hired at IBM in January 1956. He and Shirley relocated to Mechanicsburg, PA in 1986 and retired from IBM after 36 years. He also worked for Morrison-Knudsen for 15 years in Gaithersburg, MD and Chillicothe, IL, before returning to Greencastle to do what he enjoyed the most, spending time with family, friends, farming, and making his bride happy. He was a member of the Greencastle Christian Church. He is survived by his wife; four sons, Ron (Mary) Birt of Greencastle, Jerry (Karen) Birt of Greencastle, Bob (Laura) Birt of PA, and Glen (Paula) Birt of Greencastle; a daughter, Carolyn (Maurice) Butler of Greencastle; four sisters, Karen (Alva) Wood of Greencastle, Jean (James) Travis of Greenwood, Joyce (Chuck) Akers of AZ, and Jan Maes of AZ; three brothers, Jim (Janet) Birt of AZ, Darryl (Lynette) Starr of Greencastle, and Kevin (Suzy) Starr of Greencastle; brother-in-law, Ed Dixon; he was extremely proud of his 13 grandchildren, Kacie (Luke)Chase, Daniel (Lindsey) Birt, Miranda (Brent) Heavin, Kyle Birt, Lesli (Lee) Fordice, Matt (Ashton) Butler, Kayla Birt, Bailey (Kyle) Beaty, Aaron Birt, Luke Birt, Kara Birt, Brittany Birt & Olivia Birt; eight great grandchildren, Sterling Chase, Jaxon Birt, Nelson Chase, Mackinley Heavin, Hallie Birt, Tarik Chase, Dia Chase, and Mason Heavin. He was preceded in death by his parents; a sister, Judy Dixon; a brother Doyne Starr; and a grandson, Mackinley Butler. A Celebration of Life Service will be conducted by the grandchildren at 10:00 am on Saturday, October 26, 2013 at the Greencastle Christian Church. Interment will follow at the Forest Hill Cemetery. The family will receive friends on Friday, October 25th from 4:00 to 8:00 pm at Greencastle Christian Church. In lieu of flowers the family asks that donations be made in Gordon’s name to the charity of their choice or to his favorite charity, The Putnam County Foundation: Greencastle High School Alumni Assn. or Putnam County 4-H Fair