FRED B. GORDON

SOUTH PORTLAND – Fred B. Gordon, 89, passed away quietly June 1, 2008, at Sea Side Health Care Center, Portland, just a few weeks shy of his 90th birthday. He just had breakfast, when he closed his eyes and slipped away. Fred always enjoyed a good meal before leaving on a long trip. Fred was born June 25, 1918, in Dexter, the son of Leo and Edith Gordon. He was one of 10 children. He married his one and only love, Maxine, in 1940. Fred served in the Timberwolf Division on the front lines of Germany during World War II, before ending up in a Paris hospital, almost dying from shrapnel wounds. Serving his country was one of his proudest times in his life, yet tormented him for many years late in his life. Returning home, Fred took over his dad’s business, Gordon’s Department Store, Dexter, along with the help of his loving wife Maxine. He enjoyed family camping trips throughout Maine, along with fishing and hunting. He started an astronomy club in Dexter and made two telescopes. Fred also enjoyed many years making oil paintings at the seashore. His other hobbies also included gardening, making flies and bamboo fly rods, ham radio and a general tinkerer throughout his life. In the mid-1960s, Fred moved his family to Cape Elizabeth, where he was employed by Dictaphone, Portland, but was forced to retire in his late 50s, due to health problems. Fred lost his wife, Maxine, just after 66 years of marriage, February 2006. Fred was predeceased by many brothers, John, Ernest, Earl, Frank and Alfred; and a sister, Dorothy. Surviving relatives are his bother, David and his wife, Mona Gordon; brother, Donald and his wife, Hazel; his sister, Marjorie and her husband, James; two sons, Dean Gordon and his wife, Betty, of Chandler, Ariz., and Cameron Gor-don and his wife, Pamela, of South Portland; a granddaughter, Allison Strosnider and her husband, David; great-grandchildren, Alexis and Audrey of Ashville, N.C.; a granddaughter, Holly Daitch and her husband, Eric; and great-grandchildren, Madelyn and Cameron of Vernon, Conn. The family would like to give special thanks to the staff for the loving care Fred received at Sea Side Health Care for the last one and a half years. Graveside services will be held for both Fred and Maxine at the end of June in Dexter. In lieu of flowers, make donations/contributions to your local veterans’ home or hospital, send a care package to a service man or woman, or send a letter. Above all, shake the hand of a veteran and tell him/her how much you appreciate them, hug the widow or widower and say how sorry you are for their loss, and give thanks for their loved one’s ultimate sacrifice.