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May 31, 2018
Services
Friends may gather with the family for Memorial Visitation at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Tuesday, June 5, 2018 from 4-7 PM. A Memorial Service will immediately follow visitation and begin in the funeral home at 7:00 PM.
Kenneth F. Gordon, age 72, of Wayne, passed away peacefully at home on Thursday, May 31, 2018.
Born in Guttenburg NJ, Ken was raised there until age nine, when his family moved to Wayne. While attending Wayne High School, known today as Wayne Valley High School, he worked in different part time positions such as a gas station attendant, mechanic, and he even assembled screwdrivers at a local factory. Ultimately he settled into a career with Wayne Township D.P.W. in the Water Department. Ken’s career with the township started in June, 1966 and, over the course of time, he rose to a supervisor position in the Water Department. He briefly tried his hand as an over the road truck driver, with my Uncle, but returned to the township within 6 months. After 49 years of service, Ken retired for the Township of Wayne, in December, 2015.
In September of 1965, Ken married Claire Nigro. They were soon blessed with two beautiful children – Darlene in 1966 and Kenneth in 1969. They amicably divorced in 1981. Ken met Lori Price, they moved to Oakland and lived there for 16 years. Ken moved back to Wayne in September 2000. He liked living in Wayne, and was closer to his son, daughter and 3 Grandsons. His son and grandson live right down the street, and his daughter and her family moved right next door in 2012. They recall Ken being meticulous and he had the nicest lawn in the neighborhood. He enjoyed working outside in the yard, specially during the early morning hours on the weekends. He didn’t just work on his own home projects though, and being woke up at 7 am on Saturday was always comical because how can you be upset when your Dad is cleaning up your leaves for you? He also built many outdoor decks for friends, relatives and people who asked for him to build them one. If you needed electrical work such as installing outlets, light fixtures, ceiling fans and wiring. He was comfortable around tools and knew how to use them and enjoyed doing projects. He also liked to tinker on older cars, motorcycles and would bring home old bicyles to refurbish. No matter the job or project he worked on, he took pride in his work, his home and his family. His hands were never idle and another favorite pastime was fishing in the Passaic and Ramapo Rivers. Of course, he released God’s creatures back into their natural habitat after catching them.
Ken adored his grandchildren. Being a chocoholic himself, he always made sure he had lots of cookies, Hershey chocolates, Kit Kats, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and M&M's in the house. He also always has a fridge full of Jelly rings, Coke and Yoo-Hoo's on hand for when they showed up at his doorstep. Always making sure there were treats for the kids. He enjoyed teaching them how to fix and make things work. When his grandchildren were young he made them bicycles, “Frankenstein bikes”. He would gather old bikes to remake them into a functioning bike. He'd take a few parts from this one and that one, sand down and repaint the frames, put new wheels and pedals on them to give them to his grandchildren. Speaking of bikes, Ken had one of his very own – only his had a motor. He was as proud of his Kawasaki Vulcan motorcycle as he was of his Ford Fusion. He loved going on trips with family and friends, whether it was day rides or long road trips, he just enjoyed being on his motorcycle. He took a couple motorcycle trips to Texas to visit family. There were many Sundays he would just get on his bike and ride the day away with no particular destination.
Reserved by nature, Ken would loosen up once he got to know you well enough. He could be sarcastic and he loved to bust your chops, but he was also loving, thoughtful and he’d help in any way he could.
Ken is survived by his much-loved son and daughter: Kenneth Gordon and Darlene Gordon, both of Wayne: three cherished grandchildren: Kenneth, Johnny and Brandon; great grandson Asher and also three step-grandchildren: Carli, William, and Michael; six brothers and sisters: Elizabeth Smith, Judith DiLiddo, Gary Callahan, Valerie Cudworth, Linda Tubridy, and Genaveeve "Jeanie" Gordon; 26 nieces and nephews; and 35 great nieces and great nephews. He was predeceased by his loving parents: Alexander and Anna Gordon; and four brothers: Alexander, Robert, Richard, and James Gordon.
In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Ken’s name are asked to consider St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memorial Processing,501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-9959 or at www.stjude.org.
If you would like to send a private condolence directly to the family use this condolence section.
Friends may gather with the family for Memorial Visitation at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Tuesday, June 5, 2018 from 4-7 PM. A Memorial Service will immediately follow visitation and begin in the funeral home at 7:00 PM.
May 31, 2018
Services
Friends may gather with the family for Memorial Visitation at the Vander May Wayne Colonial Funeral Home, 567 Ratzer Road, Wayne, on Tuesday, June 5, 2018 from 4-7 PM. A Memorial Service will immediately follow visitation and begin in the funeral home at 7:00 PM.
Kenneth F. Gordon, age 72, of Wayne, passed away peacefully at home on Thursday, May 31, 2018.
Born in Guttenburg NJ, Ken was raised there until age nine, when his family moved to Wayne. While attending Wayne High School, known today as Wayne Valley High School, he worked in different part time positions such as a gas station attendant, mechanic, and he even assembled screwdrivers at a local factory. Ultimately he settled into a career with Wayne Township D.P.W. in the Water Department. Ken’s career with the township started in June, 1966 and, over the course of time, he rose to a supervisor position in the Water Department. He briefly tried his hand as an over the road truck driver, with my Uncle, but returned to the township within 6 months. After 49 years of service, Ken retired for the Township of Wayne, in December, 2015.
In September of 1965, Ken married Claire Nigro. They were soon blessed with two beautiful children – Darlene in 1966 and Kenneth in 1969. They amicably divorced in 1981. Ken met Lori Price, they moved to Oakland and lived there for 16 years. Ken moved back to Wayne in September 2000. He liked living in Wayne, and was closer to his son, daughter and 3 Grandsons. His son and grandson live right down the street, and his daughter and her family moved right next door in 2012. They recall Ken being meticulous and he had the nicest lawn in the neighborhood. He enjoyed working outside in the yard, specially during the early morning hours on the weekends. He didn’t just work on his own home projects though, and being woke up at 7 am on Saturday was always comical because how can you be upset when your Dad is cleaning up your leaves for you? He also built many outdoor decks for friends, relatives and people who asked for him to build them one. If you needed electrical work such as installing outlets, light fixtures, ceiling fans and wiring. He was comfortable around tools and knew how to use them and enjoyed doing projects. He also liked to tinker on older cars, motorcycles and would bring home old bicyles to refurbish. No matter the job or project he worked on, he took pride in his work, his home and his family. His hands were never idle and another favorite pastime was fishing in the Passaic and Ramapo Rivers. Of course, he released God’s creatures back into their natural habitat after catching them.
Ken adored his grandchildren. Being a chocoholic himself, he always made sure he had lots of cookies, Hershey chocolates, Kit Kats, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and M&M's in the house. He also always has a fridge full of Jelly rings, Coke and Yoo-Hoo's on hand for when they showed up at his doorstep. Always making sure there were treats for the kids. He enjoyed teaching them how to fix and make things work. When his grandchildren were young he made them bicycles, “Frankenstein bikes”. He would gather old bikes to remake them into a functioning bike. He'd take a few parts from this one and that one, sand down and repaint the frames, put new wheels and pedals on them to give them to his grandchildren. Speaking of bikes, Ken had one of his very own – only his had a motor. He was as proud of his Kawasaki Vulcan motorcycle as he was of his Ford Fusion. He loved going on trips with family and friends, whether it was day rides or long road trips, he just enjoyed being on his motorcycle. He took a couple motorcycle trips to Texas to visit family. There were many Sundays he would just get on his bike and ride the day away with no particular destination.
Reserved by nature, Ken would loosen up once he got to know you well enough. He could be sarcastic and he loved to bust your chops, but he was also loving, thoughtful and he’d help in any way he could.
Ken is survived by his much-loved son and daughter: Kenneth Gordon and Darlene Gordon, both of Wayne: three cherished grandchildren: Kenneth, Johnny and Brandon; great grandson Asher and also three step-grandchildren: Carli, William, and Michael; six brothers and sisters: Elizabeth Smith, Judith DiLiddo, Gary Callahan, Valerie Cudworth, Linda Tubridy, and Genaveeve "Jeanie" Gordon; 26 nieces and nephews; and 35 great nieces and great nephews. He was predeceased by his loving parents: Alexander and Anna Gordon; and four brothers: Alexander, Robert, Richard, and James Gordon.
In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy in Ken’s name are asked to consider St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Memorial Processing,501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105-9959 or at www.stjude.org.
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