Published: Tuesday, May. 13, 2008 / Updated: Tuesday, May. 13, 2008 01:40 PM
May 13, 2008
George Gordon
LAKE WYLIE -- George William Gordon died Tuesday, May 6, 2008, at Carolinas Medical Center in Pineville, N.C., following a brief illness. He was 83.
Gordon was a native of Macomb, Ill., and a graduate of Steinmetz High School in Chicago. He distinguished himself as a Marine in Pacific combat during World War II and during a 42-year career with Borg Warner Corporation in suburban Chicago, culminated by his retirement and relocation to Lake Wylie in 1984. He was awarded the U.S. military's Purple Heart after sustaining a near-fatal wound in fierce combat in Okinawa, Japan, as a member of the famed 1st Marine Division. He received an honorable discharge in 1946.
Upon return home from war duty, Mr. Gordon resumed work for Borg Warner as heat treating foreman at the company's Spring Division manufacturing facility in Bellwood, Ill., which had temporarily shifted its focus from automotive to military parts and ammunition as part of the war effort. By 1949, Mr. Gordon was elevated to plant project engineer and a year later to plant engineer, a position he held for a decade. By 1960, he had earned full engineering oversight of an ambitious Borg Warner Ltd. Transmission Division undertaking in London to produce a new automatic transmission, the Model 35, which was soon to be found in automobiles throughout Britain and Europe.
That success led to his appointment as vice president and works manager for the company's Brummer Seal Division in south suburban Chicago, a position he held until retirement. Mr. Gordon played a pivotal role in the company's expansion into transmission band production, an effort that saw Borg Warner consolidate industry wide production through the acquisition of several key competitors. By the late 1970s, Borg Warner had become a large supplier of transmission bands to General Motors, Ford and Chrysler.
Gordon's energies spilled over to the golf course, where he was as an avid recreational player and held key leadership posts at Prestwick Country Club in Frankfort, Ill., and at River Hills Plantation in Lake Wylie. He contributed his efforts on behalf of Habitat for Humanity upon retirement. He enjoyed woodworking, landscaping and bird hunting.
He is preceded in death by his father, Glen George Gordon; mother, Bernice Catherine Renda; sister, Miriam Elizabeth Giles; first wife, Marjorie Blair Gordon; and two stepfathers, Maurice Dale Smithers and John M. Renda.
He is survived by his wife of 36 years, Jane Stafford Gordon; a brother, Jerold T. Smithers of Broomfield, Colo.; a daughter, Ruthann Sweet of Scottsdale, Ariz.; a son, William Blair Gordon of Tarpon Springs, Fla.; a stepson, Christopher Stafford Lysaker of Tampa, Fla.; and three grandchildren.
Arrangements were handled by M.L. Ford & Sons of Clover. A memorial service was held May 10 at River Hills Community Church in Lake Wylie.
Lake Wylie Pilot is pleased to be able to offer its users the opportunity to make comments and hold conversations online. However, the interactive nature of the internet makes it impracticable for our staff to monitor each and every posting.
Since Lakewyliepilot.com does not control user submitted statements, we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted on our website. In addition, we remind anyone interested in making an online comment that responsibility for statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not Lake Wylie Pilot.
If you find a comment offensive, clicking on exclamation icon will flag the comment for review by the administrators, we are counting on the good judgment of all our readers to help us.