Dorothy M. Gordon, a cherished member of the Brentwood community, passed away peacefully on February 10, 2024, at the age of 95. She was surrounded by her loving family as she embarked on her final journey.
Dorothy was born into the Laundrie family, and throughout her life, she embodied the values of love, compassion, and strength. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, Walter, with whom she shared 43 years of joyous marriage. Also preceding her in death were her dear brother, William Laundrie, and her son-in-law, Daniel, who held a special place in her heart.
Left to cherish her memory are her devoted children: Joanne Haggerty, James Gordon and his wife Suzanne, Dorothy Talbot and her husband Robin, Teresa Phin and her husband Frederick, and Douglas Gordon and his wife Claudia. Dorothy's legacy continues through her grandchildren: Dianne Smith, Denise Hauptman, Debra Cavaliere, James Gordon, Kathryn Calarco, Christine Talbot, Douglas Gordon, and Thomas Gordon. Additionally, she leaves behind a legacy of love in her great-grandchildren: Amelia Smith, Jillian Smith, Richard Hauptman, Brooke Hauptman, Alexis Hauptman, Colin Cavaliere, Allison Calarco, Joseph Calarco, and Liam Gordon.
Dorothy's life was rich with the joys of family, friendship, and simple pleasures. She found immense joy in the game of golf, the solace of a good book, and the warmth of social gatherings with dear friends.
A visitation to honor Dorothy's life will be held on Wednesday, February 14, 2024, from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM. The Funeral Mass will take place on Thursday, February 15, 2024, at St. Mark’s Church, located at 105 Randall Road, Shoreham, NY. Following the service, Dorothy will be laid to rest at the Calverton National Cemetery.
Dorothy will be deeply missed by all who had the privilege of knowing her, but her spirit will live on in the hearts of those she loved and inspired. May she rest in eternal peace.
A Eulogy for Grandma Gordon:
I want to thank everyone for coming today to celebrate the life of Dorothy Gordon. My name is Jimmy and I am her oldest grandson.
This week, as we said goodbye to Grandma, it hit me how incredibly lucky I have been to have my grandmother for 45 years. In fact, I think I am the only one out of all my friends that still had their grandmother.
She and I were very close. We shared a special bond between a grandmother and a grandson which I will cherish forever. We shared many laughs together. We had so many meaningful conversations about all facets of life. As a mother of 5, grandmother of 8, and a great-grandmother of 9, she has seen and done a lot in her 95 years of life.
And Grandma loved to live a simple and happy life. She would never let her age stop her from doing what she wanted. I always found it amazing that she golfed until she was 85 years old.......especially when she took 25 strokes per hole because she couldn't hit it more than 10 feet. She had a really funny swing, but God Bless her for being out there and loving golf.
It was equally impressive that she drove her car well into her 90's. She would drive to the store and do her own grocery shopping, although rumor has it that Grandma never made a left hand turn in all of her years driving. She would meticulously plan her route and would sometimes go miles out of her way to avoid making a left hand turn. She was funny like that.
Grandma was very tough. For a tiny woman, she was tough as nails. She would mow her own lawn, shovel her own driveway, make repairs, and was self-sufficient right up to her last days. After Grandpa passed, she took care of her house in brentwood and kept it pristine. Grandma had grit and pride and was a salt of the earth type of woman.
Grandma lived a long and beautiful life. She had an unwavering spirit that filled any room she walked into. I will always remember her standing in the corner with a big smile on her face, thumbs twiddling, and making conversation with everyone in the room. My dad described her perfectly. "She was just a little nice old lady that everyone loved."
She would always make everyone happy and feel at ease in her presence and she was always laughing and smiling.
And Grandma lovvvveed to talk! And she had fascinating stories. I would sometimes sit for hours talking to her about all of her life experiences. She would tell me about growing up during the Great Depression and what she would do to help her family make ends meet. She talking to me about what it was like not to have a refrigerator or a television in her home. She would tell me about all of her jobs that she worked through the years. Talking to Grandma was like talking to a historian due to all of the experiences she had in her long life. Her stories always intrigued me and I learned a lot about my family roots through my conversations with her.
She always loved to talk about her group of close friends called the "Raiders" who were infamous for crashing your house and throwing a party AT YOUR HOUSE when you least expected it. Imagine that. You are fast asleep and next thing you know, you have 50 people at your house ready to party...kegs and all. Pretty crazy, right?
During the Raiders days, Grandma told me that she would keep a change of clothes next to her bed just in case she got raided and slept with one eye open.
She also loved talking about her Raider Vacations. These raiders were all very close and would go on family vacations every summer. LICENSE PLATE - They would attach these beer cans to their license plates and drive upstate and party for days. The stories were endless. One thing we all know about Grandma is that she loved a good time....and had many of them! We all know that all of her friends just adored her.
Her favorite story and claim to fame was when she and her friend June Kobi skipped school to see Frank Sinatra and the Paramount in NYC. They somehow managed to get all the way up to the first row where they were caught on camera being crazy cheering groupies. this footage made it to a historical newsreel and they were famous ever since! She was very proud of that!
Grandma also has another famous recording of her floating around. This was an audio recording of her doing a vocal rendition of "God Bless America." It is a must hear for anyone that has not heard it yet. She was not too proud of that. One of my Favorite memories of her was when that tape was played at her 80th birthday party for all to hear. We were all hysterically laughing.
Grandma had a great sense of humor and could dish out and take jokes with the best of them. As a mother of 5, she would often be the brunt of many jokes, mostly speaking to her love of living as cheaply as possible. As a child growing up with little means, she had to get creative to make ends meet and save money.
This skill set continued well throughout her life, all the way leading up to her final days. As a kid, I remember my father making fun of her toaster, which must have been 40 years old at the time. To her, it worked just fine and why spend money on a new modern looking toaster. I also remember my Aunt Terry laughing because Grandma saved her Christmas Tree Tinsel every year. She would straighten out the tinsel instead of spending her money on brand new tinsel. But her little tree looked perfect every year!
Grandma would try to cut corners to save a buck.
I remember the first set of hearing aids she bought.
We all remember Grandma's struggles with her hearing. We would all have to speak very loudly for her to hear us. I recall a period of time where her first pair of hearing aids were super sensitive to animal noises. She would tell us that all she would hear is birds chirping all day long and it would drive her crazy. It made us all laugh.
I think she eventually splurged on top of line hearing aids because she couldn't take the birds any longer.
Grandma had a great laugh and I will remember her laughing often.
To say that I will miss my grandmother would be an understatement. I will miss her stories, her laughter, her advice, her sausage dressing at Thanksgiving. But most of all, I will miss her love - a love that was warm, unconditional, and endlessly comforting. A love that is spread across multiple generations of our family. A love that gathers all of us together here today to show how much we appreciate and cherish our time with her.
Grandma has seen and done more in her lifetime that most can imagine. She saw many historical events and even adapted to today's modern technology! I don't know too many 95 year olds that were able to go on the internet, email, and read on a kindle.
Grandma - We are all blessed to have you in our lives for such a long and joyous time. You were the rock and focal point of the Gordon family and we are all going to miss you dearly. I will always remember you as a very happy lady who loved her children and grandchildren.
We will carry on your spirit, share your stories, and keep a special place for you in all of our hearts.
Your life will always be remembered and celebrated, we will continue to share your stories to our children and grandchildren.
We all love you and will miss you very much.
Rest in eternal peace Grandma and may God Bless You.
Thank you everybody.
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