Gordon Glenn Gordon, 88, of San Tan Valley, Arizona, passed away at his home on Saturday, June 15th, 2024. He was born in Walpole, Illinois on June 5, 1936 with the last name of Gurkowski. He went by his middle name, Glenn.
Glenn spent the first five years of his life in Walpole, IL with his father Frank, his mother Edith and his older brother Frank. There they weathered the Great Depression until, in 1941, his father was able to land a job in Chicago. When he was 10 he got saved at Glendale Bible Church. Sadly, when Glenn was 12, his mother passed away due to cancer. The three Gurkowski men moved to River Forest, IL where Glenn met his first wife Florence at church, however he joined the Coast Guard before they got married. While in the Coast Guard as a Radioman, he was stationed first in Newfoundland and later the Philippines.
Glenn and Florence married in 1958, changing their last names to Gordon in the process. After Glenn was honorably discharged from the Coast Guard in 1958, they moved to Wood Dale, IL, where they had two children, Gary and Dawn. His years as a Radioman continued into his civilian life when he got a job as a radio dispatcher with the Illinois State Police. From there the family took off to sunny California so Glenn could attend aviation school at Northrop Institute of Technology. Glenn became a pilot and never looked back. As he gained experience as a pilot he moved the family to Washington state for a short while, then back to Illinois, where they settled in Hoffman Estates for many years. There they added two more children to the family, Guy and Greg.
Glenn flew corporate jets for Montgomery Ward, Furnas Electric, Baxter Healthcare and a few others until he retired in 1999.
After retirement, Glenn and Florence moved to a peaceful riverside home in Rockton, IL, where they lived for 13 years. They then moved close to their son Greg in sunny Arizona. When Florence passed away in 2016, Greg moved in with him. Glenn met Maribeth in 2018 and they married soon after. He lived out the rest of his years at home in San Tan Valley until his passing in 2024.
Glenn enjoyed traveling, flying, tinkering, videography and photography. He was the loving husband of Maribeth; dedicated father of Gary (Laura), Dawn, Guy and Greg (Kimberly); grandfather of Alexis, Spencer, Quentin, Eric (Sam) and Evan; and step-great grandfather of Elliott and Donovan. His presence will be missed.
A memorial service is being planned in Illinois in the near future for family and friends there.
