Died: 12/30/2015 in Seattle Washington
Gordon, youngest son of Lyle and Evna Price, moved with his 2 brothers and 2 sisters to Washington State when he was 3 years old, and settled in Cosmopolis, WA. Later the family moved to the Greenlake district of Seattle, then North of Seattle to Woodinville, Bothell, and finally Kenmore. Gordon attended grade school in Woodinville, and middle school and high school in Bothell. In school Gordon excelled in sports, especially basketball. To earn extra money for his family he caddied at Inglewood Country Club in Kenmore, where he developed a life-long love of golf. Later he joined Inglewood as a member, ever-improving his golf skills and earning a 3 handicap.
Once he graduated from high school, Gordon went to work for Boeing where he was employed as a riveter, but he didn’t much care for assembly-line work. When the U.S. entered world war 2 in the aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Gordon immediately quit his job at Boeing and joined the U.S. Navy. During training the Navy found he had a talent for deflection shooting so he was sent to gunnery school to learn to be an gunner on a TBM Avenger. However, when the time came for him to train on the actual gunnery station they discovered he was too tall to fit in the turret. Capitalizing on his experience building airplanes at Boeing, the Navy next sent him to air machinist’s school where (much to his chagrin), he learned the Navy way to repair the fuselage, wing surfaces, and structural components of carrier aircraft. Gordon was posted to 3 different escort carriers as an aircraft machinist mate, and criss-crossed the Pacific many times during the war.
Honorably discharged from the Navy after the war, Gordon briefly attended Washington State University but did not find university life to his taste. His older brother, a Seattle Police Officer, encouraged him to attend the Seattle Police Academy where he did well, joining the Seattle Police Department upon graduation as badge number 55. He served as a police officer for 25 years in several departments, ending up as a jailor in the Public Safety Building. He also represented the Police Department in its intramural basketball, baseball, and golf teams, and was a valued member in all of them.
Gordon retired as a uniformed Police Officer in 1972. He then joined the warrants division of the police department, serving there until 1977, when he at last retired from his labors in law enforcement to the home he'd built in Kenmore, Washington.
Gordon is survived by his second wife Julie, his son Russell (Monique), sisters Doris and Marian, and numerous nieces, nephews, and cousins.
Gordon loved working with people, and he earned the love, friendship, and respect of all with whom he interacted, on both sides of the law. He had a life-long passion for golf, and for working on his house and in his yard. He was a devoted husband and father who cared deeply for his family, friends, and associates.
He is sorely missed.
SHARE OBITUARY
v.1.9.6