Gordon Charles McKay Jr.

Marta’s mom said, “You’ll never be bored with this one,” and boy, oh boy, was she right! A true adventurer at heart, Gordon Charles McKay Jr. was born August 7, 1952 in Klamath Falls, OR, the third of five children born to Evelyn Virginia Tate and Gordon Charles McKay, Sr. A 1971 graduate of Klamath Union High School, he received not only his diploma, but an outstanding knee injury sustained from his short-lived football career, which bothered him all his life. He graduated in 1975 from San Jose Bible College (now William Jessup University) with a Bachelor of Arts in Bible/Ministry, and then received a Master of Divinity from Emmanuel School of Religion in 2013. A life-long learner, Gordon completed his formal education with a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs in 1996. He continued reading avidly and pursue learning to the end of his life. Gordon was a witness to and shaped by the social unrest of the 60s and 70s, including the “Jesus Movement,” but in later years became a fan of such thinkers as Paul Tillich, Reinhold Niebuhr, Richard Rohr, and Brian McLaren. He always loved words, as evidenced by his voracious reading of dictionaries and daily practice of using a new word in context. Beginning in college to the day he died, Gordon kept a dictionary and his Bible next to his bedside table.

Gordon was also accustomed to and not afraid of hard work. In his teenage years he worked in the potato and onion fields alongside migrant workers. He also worked at his father’s moving and storage company and then used those skills while at Bible College to “pay as you go.” After College he served as a youth pastor at his home church of Shasta Way Christian Church, then moved to Tennessee to attend Seminary. While in Seminary he worked as a mental health tech at Watauga Mental Health Center and pastored a small, urban, mostly black congregation at West Main Street Christian Church in Johnson City, Tenn. Gordon and his seminary roommates also worked as evening Janitors/cafeteria crew at Milligan College across the highway from Emmanuel. He kept his white janitor’s apron and transported it to every kitchen where we lived to remind him both of his days in Appalachia and his beloved housemates and fellow janitors.

It was in East Tennessee that he met his wife Marta Keller while she was attending Milligan College and within six months of dating, they were engaged. They were married on July 3rd, 1982, in Marta’s hometown of Dodge City, KS. The couple moved to Atlanta, GA. where Marta completed her master’s degree in counseling and Gordon began a 6-year pastorate at North Druid Hills Christian Church. The dance of church politics was both an obstacle and a challenge that brought Gordon to a decision to transition to teaching. He taught youth at the in-patient residential school at Charter Brook Hospital in Atlanta, GA. During the twelve years in Atlanta their daughter Cody Marie was born and soon after it was decided that it was time to be closer to immediate family, which prompted the move to Colorado Springs in the Fall of 1993.

Gordon had completed all his course work for his Master of Divinity degree, but not his thesis requirement. Stalled by being a procrastinator with perfectionistic tendencies and his lofty thesis idea, “The Problem with Suffering,” he kept putting off getting it done. Encouraged by his friends, including one of his former roommates who now was a professor at their seminary alma-mater, he was able to adjust his expectations, simplify the process, complete the */%#+ “darn” thesis, and finally receive his M.Div. Although Gordon struggled to write about “The Problem with Suffering,” he got to live it and experience it. Like many others in his family of origin, Gordon struggled for much of his life with Bi-Polar I, alternating between deep depression and manic energy and creativity. He was fortunate to have a host of family and friends who loved him, took seriously their partnership, and helped minimize the damage. One of Gordon’s many friends was Stan, whom Gordon had known since elementary school. They became best friends in high school, then went to Bible College (along with Kenny, another good friend) and Seminary together, and continued to stay in touch across the miles and years. Stan lent Gordon stability, and Gordon kept Stan and all their friends laughing together. They both counted their friendship as priceless.

After the family moved to Colorado Springs and Gordon completed his degree at the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs, Gordon began his 15-year teaching career, initially at St. Francis hospital in their youth residential program and later in the D-11 school system teaching 7th grade language arts. After retiring from teaching, Gordon worked another 5 years as a mental health technician on the adult unit at Cedar Springs hospital, where his coworkers dubbed him the “patient whisperer.” Gordon was pastoral by nature and in his last few years he enjoyed volunteering for friends in-need. He spent Mondays with Oscar; Tuesdays with Ted; and Thursdays reading or helping Jim (his retired pastor) do research for his next book. He also loved his Thursday mornings at the men’s breakfast at First Congregational Church, as well as his church support group, “Soul Feast.” He also loved traveling with friends, which continued to feed his appetite for adventure.

Gordon cherished his wife Marta and happily put her counseling career ahead of his own. When people would ask what their secret was for a long marriage, they would both say, “no one else would put up with either one of us;” they were meant for each other. Gordon also loved being a father to Cody, who often told people that “he is the best dad.” Family, both immediate and extended, were very important to Gordon. He was especially attached to his older brother David. Although their political and theological views were vastly divergent, and they debated fiercely for hours on end, they could also park their emotional intensity and just be together.

Family members who preceded him in death include his father, Gordon Sr., and his oldest sister Donna.

Surviving relatives include his wife Marta; daughter Cody (Stanton); brother David Lloyd (Ruth) and two sisters: Judy (Ray) Ruddell; sister Marilyn McKay; mother Evelyn Olson; brothers-in-law: William C Keller (Janet); David Keller (Hettie); Richard Keller (Barbara); sister-in-law: Marilou Keller (Lex Abadie) and many nieces and nephews as well as great nieces and nephews on both the McKay and Keller sides, and last but not least is his beloved dog Beau Riley.

Gordon had a sharp mind and a quick wit; his jokes, cynicism, sarcasm, and sense of humor kept people in stitches. He always had something punny to say. Last summer he went fishing with his buddy Jim and as he stepped over rocks to get closer to the lake, he tripped and fell, hurting his knee and breaking Jim’s fishing rod. Despite the mess, he was excited to claim he had come up with a “perfect quadruple pun”: he described the place where the fishing disaster happened as “Rod Knee Danger Field.”

One of Gordon’s greatest skills was his ability to get lost. His reputation extended far and wide. Many a tale was told about his great adventures with friends in Oregon, lost while camping in the mountain wilderness. He enjoyed taking the long road, or the wrong turn just to see what was beyond. Dirt roads and trails intrigued him, and he wandered off on his mountain bike too many times to count. He embraced getting lost, but never really thought he was lost, always believing God would lead him home, and God did.

A Memorial Service will take place on August 19, 2023, 10:30 a.m. at First Congregational Church, 20 East Saint Vrain Street, Colorado Springs, CO 80903.

Memorials can be sent to First Congregational Church; please Memo: JWW Lectureship Series Endowment Fund.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.Swan-Law.com for the McKay family.