Thomas Frederick Gordon

Tom was a much loved son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, soldier, and teacher.

He was born on June 24th, 1918, in Portland, Maine, and raised in Brewer, Maine. He went to Bowdoin College for a year and then received an appointment to the United States Military Academy, from which he graduated in 1940. He was on the first ship that brought troops to Hawaii after Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor.

He married Dorothy Reed Miller on November 26th, 1942, in Wilmington, North Carolina. They have remained life partners until his death.

Tom’s military career took him and his family to stateside assignments in California, Arizona, Massachusetts, and Maine. They traveled overseas to Japan, Germany, and Okinawa.

After retiring from the Army in 1961, Tom earned an MAT in mathematics at Duke University. Following two years on the Duke faculty, he was hired as a mathematics instructor at North Carolina State University. He taught there until his retirement in 1985. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he supervised the incoming teaching assistants for many years and was on a variety of department and university committees.

Throughout his two careers he was always actively involved in the Church, serving on vestries and in other volunteer capacities.

He was a lifelong sports fan and especially enjoyed his many years of attending NC State athletic events. And he himself was an exceptionally skilled handball player!

Retirement brought the joy of being able to spend more time with his beloved wife and to experience the wonder of new relationships with his two sons and of being a grandparent and great grandparent.

Tom is survived by his wife, Dorothy Reed Miller Gordon; sons Thomas F. Gordon, Jr., of Winston-Salem, and Alexander M. Gordon (Ann), of Efland; grandchildren John A. Gordon (Liu Lan) of Beijing, China, William T. Gordon (Viktorija) of Durham, and Ann M. Gordon (Landon) of Charlotte; and great grandchildren Oliver Abernethy of Charlotte and Andrea Gordon of Durham.

A celebration of Tom’s life will be held on Monday, July 28th, 2014, at 11:00 a.m., at The Church of the Good Shepherd in Raleigh (125 Hillsborough St.).

Memorial offerings are suggested to Kanuga Conferences (Kanuga Pathfinders), PO Box 250, Hendersonville, NC, 28793-0250 or The Church of the Good Shepherd (Shepherd's Table), 121 Hillsborough St., Raleigh, NC, 27615.