I worked for Gordon for a couple of summers in my last years of high school and early university. Between Mae's wonderful cooking and Gordon's untiring ability and willingness to share stories about flying and the war, those summers will always be some of the fondest memories I have of being a teenager.
Gordon and I would often take on yard work projects when the weather didn't permit us to be in the field. I remember one such "contingency" project of bin painting that lent itself particularly well to an ongoing question-and-answer period about Gordon's experiences and perspectives on the world. By the end of the summer, not only had we done a nice job of cleaning up the farm bins, but I had learned more about history and world politics than in the previous entire year of social studies in school!
When I became a teacher a few years later and embarked on a significant Canadian history project with my students, I contacted Gordon to see if he would be willing to share some of his stories once again, this time with students from across Canada. Gordon agreed and proceeded to contribute some of the project's most detailed and illuminating experiences of the participating veterans.
At one point during that project, I remember telling Gordon about another veteran pilot whom we interviewed who had won the Distinguished Flying Cross. Gordon acknowledged just what a significant recognition that was for a pilot, typically requiring a record of more than 25 completed missions. For the first time, I asked Gordon how many missions he had flown. He said 42! I discovered that Gordon had earned his own DFC during the war for a record of missions that I had somehow never asked about and he had never felt important enough to mention.
Today, I am sad for the loss of my friend. But I'm so grateful that I was able to know him for the time that I did. He was a tribute to both our community and our country and we should all feel richer for having our lives touched by him. Thank you Gordon.
