Michael Gordon

Michael Gordon passed away on July 21, 2023, at the age of 82. He was the son of David and Helen Gordon, both deceased. He is preceded in death by his wife of 53 years, Suzanne (Sue) Smith Gordon. He is mourned by his children Rachel Drohat, Dave Gordon, Matt Gordon and Sarah Roney, grandchildren Jake and Philip Drohat, Hannah Gordon, Lilli and Elyse Gordon, and Abby and Calvin Roney, sons and daughters-in-law Alex Drohat, Dawn Gordon, Amy Gordon, and Matt Roney, siblings Jon Gordon, Ann Smith, and Bill Gordon, nieces and nephews Heather Parr, Stephanie Wilson, Lee and Brian Gordon, significant other Kate Weaver, and an extensive community of friends from his personal and professional life.

Mike, as everyone knew him, was born on November 20, 1940, in the Bronx where he lived until age five, though he never quite lost his Bronx accent. Eventually his family moved to Wallingford (a Philadelphia suburb), and he graduated from Nether Providence High School in 1958. In 1962, he received a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Union College in Schenectady, NY. He had a 30+ year career at IBM and then started a consulting business where he worked with IBM and other companies for another 27 years. His engineering expertise was highly valued, and he loved helping clients find solutions to challenging problems. He continued working until he was 78.

Mike and Sue were married on July 6, 1963, and Rachel was born the following year. After Dave was born, they moved from Media, Pennsylvania to Wilmington, Delaware where Matt was born. Sue really wanted to get a German Shorthaired Pointer, as she had grown up with one, and soon the house had three kids and more dogs than you could count on both hands. They started showing and raising Shorthairs and eventually decided to buy seven acres in Elkton, Maryland to build a house and kennel where they continued to raise and show the dogs. The other wonderful thing that happened in Elkton was another addition to the family, Sarah!

In addition to working for almost 60 years, Mike was driven by a deep sense of community responsibility. He was engaged for many years with the North East Little League, serving as a coach for baseball and softball and as league president, and was instrumental in building a beautiful new little league complex. He was also passionate about education and served as co-PTA president with Sue at North East Elementary School. Later, he was appointed to the Cecil County Board of Education by Governor Schaffer, serving for 10 years, many as the board president. One of his cherished roles on the board was to hand out diplomas at high school graduations - as he did for Sarah at her graduation. Mike also advocated for education at the state level, including testifying to the Maryland State Legislature. He was a great supporter of the arts, including whatever help Sue and Sarah needed for the Cecil Dance Theater, where Sarah danced for 12 years. Even after Sarah moved on from the dance theater, Mike and Sue stayed very involved and even got their moment of fame playing the grandparents in the Nutcracker for many years. Since 2006, Mike has served on the board of Upper Bay Counseling and Support Services, including service as president; this was a labor of love as he had family members who suffered with mental illness or addiction over the years. After Sue passed away in 2017, Mike joined Temple Adas Shalom and in true Mike fashion he got involved, joined the board and served as president yet again, and he was active with the synagogue board until just recently.

Outside of a busy work and volunteer schedule, Mike loved spending time with his family including many family holiday dinners, watching his grandchildren play sports, and lots of laughter. He was also able to travel to Germany several times for work and one year brought Sue and Sarah with him and they took a side trip to Paris as well. After Sue passed, he traveled with Kate, including trips to Israel (a dream of his), Peru, the Galapagos Islands and Bermuda. He also enjoyed kayaking in local waters by himself and with Kate. And he loved following all Philadelphia sports teams. He also joined the Upper Chesapeake Literary Society (aka book club) where he could pursue two loves: books and time with friends.

When you became a friend of Mike Gordon’s you were a friend for life. He was instrumental in planning high school reunions, regular theater outings with high school friends, monthly pizza dinners with retired IBMers, and he cultivated many friendships in the Cecil County community.

Mike had been battling cancer and COPD. His mind remained sharp and as a problem solver, Mike tackled his illnesses just like he would any other problem he was trying to solve. In the end he passed peacefully with his family around him throughout his last days.

A funeral service will be held on Thursday, July 27, 2023  at 11 am at St. Mary Anne’s Episcopal Church, 315 S. Main Street, North East, MD 21901. The service will be co-officiated by Rabbi Meeka Simerly of (Reform Jewish) Temple Adas Shalom, Havre de Grace and Father John Schaeffer of St. Mary Anne’s Episcopal Church, North East. Interment to follow services in the church cemetery. A celebration of life will immediately follow at The Wellwood, 523 Water Street, Charlestown, MD 21914.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to either the Upper Bay Counseling & Support Services (https://www.upperbay.org) or Temple Adas Shalom (https://www.templeadasshalom.org).

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