Robert "Bob" Gordon

Robert “Bob” Gordon passed away on February 9, 2023, at the age of 80 years old. He was a devoted and loving husband to his wife, Minako, a loyal and supportive father to his sons, Mark and Eric, an adoring grandfather to Max, Theo, Julian, and Liam, best friends with his daughter in laws Wendy Gordon and Courtney Gordon who he thought of as his own, and a dedicated friend to countless people spread out all over the world.

He was born in Winchester, Virginia in 1943 to Eugene and Marjorie Gordon, with his sister Sandy Gordon joining the family a few years later. Living the military life, they moved around in his youth, finally settling in Fort Collins, Colorado. Bob graduated from Colorado State University Fort Collins with a degree in Zoology and promptly joined the Army and went to Vietnam. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel after 20+ years of active duty service and went on to work as a Department of Army Civilian for another 20+ years. He earned a Master’s Degree in Human Resources Management in 1979 while on active duty with the Army through Pepperdine University.

While stationed at a small Army base in Kure, Japan, he met the love of his life, Minako, and they got married in 1971. They lived the typical military life, moving every few years, including stops at Ft. Eustis, Virginia, Ft. Ord, California, Okinawa, Japan, Yokohama, Japan, Ft. Leavenworth, Kansas, Camp Zama, Japan, southern California, and then back to Camp Zama, Japan, where he retired from active duty. In between all of those moves, their sons Eric (1973) and Mark (1983) were born. Following his retirement from the Army, he worked for another 20+ years as a Department of Army civilian at Camp Zama, Japan and Ft. Shafter, Hawaii. In what ended up being the perfect bookend, he finished his career back at the same place he started at coming out of Vietnam…in Kure, Japan.

He had a lot of things he enjoyed…collecting stamps and coins, doing puzzles, going for car rides and looking for the local antelope herd…but the two things he enjoyed most were spending time with his family and, when the opportunity arose - to share with other people his vast knowledge and appreciation of Japan.

He is survived by his wife, Minako, his sons Mark (and his wife Courtney and their two sons, Theo and Max), Eric (and his wife Wendy and their two sons, Liam and Julian), and his sister-in-law Kumiko. He was preceded in death by his parents, Eugene and Marjorie Gordon and his sister, Sandy Gordon. And of course, this says nothing of a lifetime collection of friends, who were the same as family to him. This includes his oldest friends from his college days, all of his Army buddies and their families over the course of his military career, the countless Japanese civilians he worked with, the friends he made while working in Hawaii, and finally the many folks he connected with while living at Bonaventure in Colorado Springs.

I suppose this is where the boilerplate obituary is supposed to end. But if I could, I’d like to indulge one last time on several things that were important to my dad.

Family, above all else, was the most important thing to him. I was talking with my brother the other day about how my dad always showed up to all our respective sporting events. Everytime I’d look over to the sidelines at a home game, I could always find my dad there. I remember he and my mom coming to California for my brother's college graduation, and all of us flying out to Korea to watch my brother’s change of command ceremony. I know he was beyond proud that his son Mark joined the Army, where he has served for the last 15 years, including tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. It was hard for my dad to leave Japan in 2018, but he also enjoyed being able to see Eric and his family on a regular basis. It’s not always the case that you get to spend your last few years with one of your kids and family, and I’m immeasurably grateful for that time, in particular for his grandkids Liam and Julian, who got to know their grandfather really well over the last 4 years. Three generations of Gordon boys used to go to the commissary together at the nearby Air Force Academy every week to shop for groceries and then he would want to stop and buy them fast food on the way home. And we did this, without fail, every week. And he and Wendy spent many Friday evenings at their favorite local bar, the Back East Bar and Grill, having a beer or four together, along with the many new friends that both of them made there. As much as Colorado Springs was not Japan…I know he cherished that time with his family. His son Mark was stationed in Louisiana and Oklahoma while he was living in Colorado, and Bob couldn’t wait for the holidays to visit them or have them visit us. Thanksgiving 2022 was the first time that Bob was able to have all 4 of his grandkids in the same house together, and I know he valued that immeasurably. Bob moved out to Colorado from Japan to be closer to his family as his health challenges grew. Managing those issues was harder in Japan, just given the language barrier. Having my mom remain in Japan where she has family was a hard decision for both of them, and they regularly talked over FaceTime and had been making plans to look at perhaps Hawaii or California as their final home.

Japan really was a second home to him, and he thoroughly enjoyed his many duty assignments there, and ultimately retiring there. Hell, I think he spent more of his adult life in Japan than he did in the US! Four years ago, he moved out to Colorado Springs to be closer to some family, and while it was very hard for him to leave Japan, he had the opportunity to spend time with some of his family, and grew particularly close to his grandkids. Given his increasing medical issues and the difficulties around navigating those issues in Japan, he and Minako decided it would be best for him to move to Colorado to be around other family and have access to US-based healthcare. This was not an easy decision for them, and I know that he missed her and Japan terribly. Ironically, while in Japan, he was about to start dialysis, but upon moving to Colorado, his medical providers took him off of some of his medications and his kidney function improved so much that he actually never ended up needing dialysis.

Family and his love for Japan are two things that particularly stand out. The third thing is the value that he placed on the relationships that he had with his friends. There are simply too many to name, and leaving someone out would seem like a travesty. So for those of you that are reading this…you know who you are and what you meant to my dad. You came from all walks of life…college buddies, compatriots from the Vietnam War, friendships forged while on active duty, and friends made in retirement and while living in Colorado for the last 4 years. You were ALL incomparably special.

I do want to make special mention of the many Japanese civilians that he worked with, starting at the beginning of his career at ATO Kure, Japan…through multiple assignments in Okinawa, Yokohama, and the Tokyo area…and then ending back in ATO Kure, Japan. Bob was often the officer in charge or the civilian director at a lot of these places. The status that comes with those positions and pay grades mattered not one iota to him. The ONLY thing that mattered to him was that his position allowed him to solve any of his staff’s issues, problems, and concerns. Being able to help, train, and support the local Japanese staff was what he did best, and I know they respected him greatly for that. Hell, he had spent more time in Japan than some of his staff had even been alive in Japan! He was this White guy who could speak Japanese and knew their culture as well as they did, and there probably is no higher form of respect than that.

Trying to sum up someone’s life up in a few paragraphs in an obituary just doesn’t cut it, does it? He surely impacted too many lives to do any of those relationships justice.

My dad lived a good life, and he would tell you as much. That he made it to 80 was kind of miraculous in its own right. And he made it to the finish line with a sharp mind and a body that, while slowing down, still allowed him to do everything he wanted. He had family and friends that loved him. That’s all that matters. He had lots of other things, but those are just “stuff.” He was surrounded by loving family and friends and had a lifetime of memories with those people; in the end, nothing else really matters, does it?

Bob’s passing is hard for all of us, family and friends. It is hard because the sorrow that it brings is a reminder that he is the reason for so much of our joy.

I think Khalil Gibran’s passage from “On Joy and Sorrow” is particularly worthwhile for all of us to consider:

“When you are sorrowful look again in your heart, and you shall see that in truth you are weeping for that which has been your delight.

Some of you say, “Joy is greater than sorrow,” and others say, “Nay, sorrow is the greater.”

But I say unto you, they are inseparable.

Together they come, and when one sits alone with you at your board, remember that the other is asleep upon your bed.”

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.MtViewMortuary.com for the Gordon family.