Major John E. Gordon Jr. July 24, 1949 – April 24, 2026

The world lost a wonderful man early the morning of April 24th, and five precious grandchildren lost their dear PopPop. John died after a sudden painful battle with pancreatitis which came on out of nowhere and left us all in shock. His sons, Jonathon and Michael, and his wife, Marge, were with him when he passed.

John was born in Syracuse, NY and moved to Delaware as a young child. His parents were John “Jack” Gordon and Helen "Lynn" Hoffman Gordon Jankus, both deceased. He had six siblings, Deborah Moore, deceased, Patricia McMichael (Charlie, deceased), Sharon “Cheri” Gordon-Patterson, Gerilyn Gaskill (Howard), Joseph Gordon (Cheryle) and Theresa Davis (James), all who he took great pleasure in guiding through life’s adventures.

He also had several step-siblings, Jimmy Prichard, Rebecca Prichard Dammann, Jon Prichard, David Prichard, Jen Yoon, Tomas Gordon, Tara Gordon Fairchild, Chris Lohr, Sean Lohr, and Matt Lohr

John and Marge met when they were both 16 years old and celebrated 55 years of being happily married last June. They have two sons. Jonathon, married to Stephanie with a daughter and a son. Michael, married to Kelly with two sons and a daughter. Those five grandchildren were John’s greatest pleasure in his retirement. He loved them dearly and enjoyed being with them as often as possible.

John graduated from Salesianum High School, Keene State College, and received his Masters Degree in Public Administration from Troy State University.

John was a Cub Scout and then became active in the Civil Air Patrol. After graduating college, he enlisted in the United States Air Force and served as an enlisted man for six years until he attended Officer’s Training School. He retired as a Major in May of 1995 and he started working for Beebe Hospital shortly after. He retired from Beebe in 2018 so he could stay home to play with his grandchildren and pretend to be a gardener.

His greatest pleasures besides his family were helping whenever and wherever he was needed. He volunteered as a reading coach, was active in Relay For Life for many years, and found joy in taking care of the Harbor of Refuge lighthouse. He was on the board of directors of The Delaware River & Bay Lighthouse Foundation.

John will be missed by his wife Marge, his sons and their families, his siblings and their families, and all the many people who became like family to him over the years.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to DRBLF PO Box 708, Lewes, DE, 19958 in memory of John Gordon.