Helen Marie Gordon

Helen “Marie” Gordon, 82, of Yuma, Arizona, passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday, August 19, 2020. She was born on May 18, 1938, to Albert M. and Frances (Giblin) Hassan in Port Jervis, New York. She attended St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church and school, and was also a student at Port Jervis High School. Marie married hometown boy Ellwood “Butch” Gordon, a Marine, in 1963, embarking on a lifelong commitment to the Stars and Stripes, and to the men and women who bravely serve America the beautiful. The couple lived briefly in Beaufort, South Carolina, before returning to the Port Jervis area to the town of Matamoras, Pennsylvania. In 1977, the family moved permanently to Yuma. After having three children together, they divorced but remained friends until the death of Lt. Col. Gordon in 2002.

If you were fortunate enough to have known Marie, you probably knew her as “Mom.” And to Mom, every stranger was a potential friend. Marie was proud of her Lebanese roots, which made her gracious, welcoming, hospitable, and generous to a fault. She was the ultimate social butterfly, gregarious, warm and funny. She became a popular fixture at the Yuma Jaycees, gamely supporting the volunteer work of her daughters and mothering the cowboys at the annual Silver Spur Rodeo. She was always at the center of an appreciative crowd, whether at the American Legion Post 19, the Elks Lodge 476, the sand dunes, or the desert, riding shotgun with daughter Joyce.

Her children were the joy of her life, and Marie — also known as “Mrs. G” — opened her home to dozens of other children over the years as a daycare provider. A home always filled with love, laughter, singing, and fabulous cooking. Some of her ethnic specialties, which she shared freely with friends and relatives at her generous table, were tabouli salad and kibbeh, a raw beef or lamb concoction that tastes better than you might imagine.

Marie was a dog lover and mothered many four-legged children throughout her life, most recently her be-loved Chihuahua Cherry. She was a horse whisperer and a cat cuddler. She went nose to beak with daughter Mary’s crazy cockatoo, calming him down whenever the feathers would start to fly. Marie never met a pet she didn’t love.

Marie had the kind of empathy that is born of deep personal loss and pain. She was infinitely compassionate and caring. She was brutally honest when she needed to be. She could be stubborn and frustratingly impatient. Marie’s inner child ruled her expansive heart, and kept that heart open and optimistic until — brimming with a lifetime’s worth of love — it finally, quietly stopped beating.

Marie is survived by two daughters, Mary Frances Worthen and Joyce Marie Gordon, both of Yuma; three sisters, Jacqalean Moyer of Red Lion, Pennsylvania, Jan Hassan-Butera (Ismail) of New York City, and Jennifer Hassan (Mark Kuechel) of Yuma and New York City; an uncle and aunt, George and Linda Giblin of Lexington, Missouri; as well as nieces, cousins, and more friends than she could count, all part of her large and adoring extended family.

Marie was predeceased by her parents, stepfather Ted Mudrick, stepmother Hedi Hassan, her beloved son Albert John, a granddaughter, Aspen Capri, and son-in-law Garth Worthen.

A memorial service, with Rev. Mr. Rick L. Douglas officiating, is scheduled for Noon on Saturday, September 12, at St. John Neumann Roman Catholic Church, 11545 E. 40th Street, followed by a Celebration of Life at the Yuma Jaycees, 2577 E. County 14th Street. Interment of Marie’s ashes will take place at a later date, at St. Mary’s Cemetery in Port Jervis, at the grave of her beloved baby boy, little Albert.

Donations in Marie’s memory are gratefully appreciated and may be made to the Humane Society of Yuma and Wounded Warrior Project.