Gordon was born in The Dalles,

Oregon, to Robert Edwin Finnell and

Gertrude Smith Finnell. He lived in

Ashwood all of his childhood.

In 1959, he married Judy

Hamilton and they were soon proud

parents of Clif, Elizabeth, and Bob.

Gordon and Judy also raised their

grandson, Robert Jordan.

Gordon worked for Corvallis

Fire Department from September 1,

1966 until 1992. After 27 years, he retired as a Captain of

the fire department. He had several side jobs driving truck

for Marcum Enterprises and Dulles Transport and others.

After his retirement, he moved back to Central

Oregon, settling on his Ashwood ranch. He worked at Ag

West in Madras for several years, doing mechanical work

and delivering farm equipment all over Oregon. He also

worked for Jim Nartz of Ashwood driving cat and other

farm work. For several years he worked for Norton Cattle

Company driving heavy equipment on their Ashwood

ranch.

Sadly, in 2000 he lost his wife, Judy, to cancer. They

were married over 42 years.

In June 2002, Gordon married his childhood friend

and flirtation, Julia Symons. They had 21 years of wedded

bliss. Gordon loved to cook feasts for his family and was

known for some fantastic “secret family recipes”. All

of his grandchildren remember him fixing special foods

just for them. Gordon could fi x anything he set his mind

to, using whatever scrap he could find. He was close to

genius level in many of his projects.

Gordon was a warm loving man and was loved in

return by many people.

Gordon is missed and survived by his wife, Julia;

children, Bob and Elizabeth and their children - Robert

Jordan, Clif, Sean, Timothy; also grandsons, Seth Stites,

Lane Bailey, Jett, Broc and Luke Heckathorn, Zayden;

granddaughter, Zoee; and seven great-grandchildren.

“Even though you won’t be making an appearance in

the next chapter of my book, I will continue to refer back

to the last chapters, highlighting the best times and will

keep you as a large part of my whole story” anon

Till we meet again my husband - Julia.