Ralph R. Gordon

Ralph was born on January 8, 1937 in San Antonio and grew up in Wichita Falls, Texas. He was the fourth of six boys born to Grady C. Gordon and Mattie Lou Reid. Upon graduation from Wichita Falls High School, he enlisted in the Marines and served in Okinawa. Eventually he settled in Dallas and married Karen Joan Ellefson . At the end of this June they would have been married 48 years. Together they had three daughters Lisa, Kirstin and Stacy.

In his early career he worked as a sign electrician. On the side, he founded Gordon Publications in 1971 as a one man operation, becoming one of the first independent directory publishers. Today the industry numbers in the hundreds. Ralph’s first directory, the Lake Ray Hubbard Telephone Directory is still in publication 39 years later. With help from his wife, daughters and son-in-law, Ralph expanded his operation by starting seven other area telephone directories including: The Plano Book, The Frisco Book, The Park Cities Book, The Flower Mound/Lewisville Book, The Garland Book, and Collin County Telephone Directory.

Ralph grew up caddying at Wichita Falls Country Club and became an accomplished golfer. In the 1990’s he achieved one of golf’s ultimate achievements, a hole-in-one in St. Thomas during a convention with the Association of Directory Publishers. With the success and growth of Gordon Publications, his career focus switched entirely from building and hanging signs, but he never lost his love of tools, gadgets, and work benches. From scratch he built a large storage shed, furniture for his daughters, and a walker for his ailing and disabled dog. Ralph was one of the earliest fans of the Macintosh computer by Apple, adopting it for both business and personal use, and shaping his family’s computer habits and preferences for the next two decades.

Visitation will be Sunday, June 13 from 5-8 p.m. at Sparkman Hillcrest Funeral Home, 7405 W. Northwest Hwy., Dallas. A Memorial Service will be at 11:00 a.m. on Monday, June 14, at Christ Lutheran Church, 3001 Lovers Lane, in Dallas.

Ralph was predeceased by his parents and two brothers, Grady Gordon Jr. and Robert Gordon. Ralph is survived by his wife Karen, three daughters, Lisa Gordon, Kirstin Herrera and husband Ed, Stacy Ballard and husband Bill; five grandsons, Andrew, Will, Matthew, Nicholas and Jack; three brothers, Larry Gordon and wife Joan of Colorado, Harry Gordon and wife Alice of Wichita Falls, and Donny Gordon of Wichita Falls and several nieces and nephews.

He died on June 8th after a long struggle with Alzheimer’s disease. Memorial donations may be made to The Alzheimer’s Association of Greater Dallas, www.alz.org/greaterdallas.