RICHARD LEE “DICK” GORDON

Richard Lee “Dick” Gordon passed away on August 16, 2017 in Richland, Washington after an extended illness. He was born in Lewiston, Idaho, on November 6, 1935—the son of Clayton and Cleo (Barton) Gordon, who operated a cattle ranch on Asotin Creek.  He had many happy memories of a childhood of great freedom tempered with the responsibilities of helping on the ranch and at home.  Two of his aunts had a great influence on his formative years by mentoring him in literature, drama, art and music.  Singing and music remained a lifelong source of pleasure for Dick. His aunts had a great effect on Dick’s becoming a “renaissance man” as he matured.  

His school years were spent in Asotin, Washington where he played in the marching band, sang in the choir and took part in drama activities.  He was also a cheerleader for the football team and played guitar and sang in a country-western band at school and community functions.  In 1953, he graduated from Asotin High in a class of twelve students with whom he has maintained lifelong friendships. 

After high school, Dick attended Washington State College and worked summers at the Lewiston Lumber Mill. He lived at the college fire station, earning room and board by doing emergency maintenance repairs on campus. During college he joined a band that performed at campus and town functions.  He received his Bachelor of Science in physics in 1958 and worked at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California following graduation. He returned to WSU to earn his PhD in physics in 1965.

He married Linda Carlin in 1959 and they had four children: Gregory, Kenneth, Michelle, and Andrew.  After the separation, Dick raised his children as a single parent. The independence of his children was great source of pride as they matured.

He moved to Richland in 1965 where he worked for Hanford at Battelle’s Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) as a Physical Scientist, Group Leader and Program Manager. He defined, led, and reviewed programs in basic and applied Research and Development for 30 years.  While a Battelle employee, he was loaned to the US Department of Energy (DOE) in Germantown, Maryland and worked as program manager for the DOE Department of Chemical Sciences (1988-1991). After his retirement from Battelle, he returned to the DOE as a program manager and research evaluator for four years. 

Dr. Gordon was the author or co-author of more than fifty technical papers, presentations and reports, many of which have appeared in scientific journals.  He loved his work and often bragged that it enabled him to “learn for a living.“ 

Dick was a performer at heart.  He sang and played the guitar for various groups and had many roles in local  theatre productions with the Richland Players and the Richland Light Opera; notably playing Ben Franklin in  the Musical “1776”--a role which he performed twice: once in 1976 and again in 2003.  He loved playing “Scrooge” in “A Christmas Carol” and his role in “The Miser.”  Another notable role was as “Herbert” in “I’m Herbert” from “You Know I Can’t Hear You When the Water’s Running.” He loved singing--in church choirs, folk singing groups and-the Mid-Columbia Master Singers. 

In 1994 Dick married Annette Meek.  In retirement Dick and Annette traveled widely in Europe and the United States enjoying sightseeing and attending a rich variety of musical performances, especially the opera performances of his stepdaughter Deanne. 

Dick’s sons Gregory and Kenneth preceded him in death.  He is survived by his wife of twenty -three years, Annette Gordon, his sister Marilyn O’Malley (Donald) as well as his children Michelle Gordon (Valerie Zarcone), Andrew Gordon, grandson David Alexander Cooper, step-daughters Deanne Meek and Charlene Briault (Steve), and step-grandchildren Phoebe Chase and Oscar Briault, as well as nieces, nephews and cousins.

A Celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 Saturday, August 26, 2017, at All Saints Episcopal Church, 1322 Kimball Ave., Richland, WA. Reception will follow. In Lieu of Flowers, the family requests donations in Dick’s memory be made to The Washington State University Foundation, Department of Physics, PO Box 641925 Pullman, WA 99164-1925.