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.
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