Charles Larry Gordon

Colonel Charles Larry Gordon, US Army retired, known as “Popsie” to his family and “Flash” to his Army peers, passed away on December 19th 2022. Born September 6, 1940 in Fort Worth, Texas, he considered himself a proud Texan, despite only living there a quarter of his life. Larry was married to the love of his life and matriarch of the Gordon family, Julia Ann Hiser Gordon on October 28, 1961. They were married for over 57 years until her passing in 2019. Larry is survived by his two sons, Mike and Paul, along with their wives Francesca and Patsy, and 8 grandchildren, Nicholas, Katherine, Natasha, Breana, Giuliana, Liam, Devin and Maximilian.

Larry was the first college graduate in his family, graduating from Texas A&M in 1962 with a degree in Meteorology. He was always an Aggie to the detriment of fashion, humor and conversation. He loved a good Aggie joke as well as shined and displayed his Aggie boots for 60 years.

He served 26 years in the Signal Corps of the US Army, retiring from active duty in 1988 at the rank of Colonel. He loved his career in the Army. He commanded Battalions in Vietnam and Hawaii, served on the Joint Chief of Staff in “the Rock” at Ft Ritchie, led the Signal Officer school at Ft Gordon, and ran all communications for Latin America at SoComm in Panama.

After retiring from the Army he worked the next 34 years for the military think tank Independent Defense Analyses, IDA. Despite working his entire life, Larry had many passions. His favorite being traveling the world with Julia. They both developed a love for Europe early in their marriage while posted in Italy. European river boat cruises, Disney cruises and vacations with their grandchildren throughout Europe were some of their favorites, as long as a battlefield was on the itinerary for Popsie. The Caribbean was another very frequent destination supporting his love of scuba diving. Larry was an avid and master scuba diver for 60 years. He dove at some of the most remote places around the world.

A zealous military historian, Larry was an authoritative figure on the Civil War. He served as a volunteer ranger and guide at the Manassas battlefield for over 30 years and was a published author writing the biography “ The Last Confederate General”. No car trip was complete without a visit to a Civil War battlefield, even with a station wagon loaded with possessions, kids and a dog while moving across the country.

Larry, Popsie, Flash touched many lives throughout his lifetime. He was extremely accomplished, had many hobbies and passions, maintained close friendships since childhood as well as being generous, smart and argumentative. He leaves a legacy that is admirable and rare, living his life to the fullest and the way he wanted right to the end. Not bad for a kid that grew up on the wrong side of the tracks.

He was loved and will be missed.

A visitation for Charles will be held Tuesday, January 3, 2023 from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM at Demaine Funeral Home, 5308 Backlick Road, Springfield, VA 22151.