george gordon obituary george gordon obituary

Gordon passed away peacefully Monday, October 31 at theglorious age of 91, at Good Samaritan Prairie Ridge in Raymond. [72] Gordon's parents expected him to marry and were disappointed about his lifelong bachelorhood. Sending you my love. [239] Much later, a second casting was made. . Add a photo or a video There is no photo or video of George Gordon. A visitation will be held on Wednesday, September 7, 2022 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at Northview Funeral Chapel and Cremation Centre, 1490 Highbury Avenue North, London, where Georges Life will be celebrated on Thursday, September 8 at 11:00 a.m. Interment of cremated remains at Pond Mills Cemetery. [12], The American historian Byron Farwell strongly implied in his 1985 book Eminent Victorian Soldiers that Gordon was a homosexual, for instance writing of Gordon's "unwholesome" interest in the boys he took in to live with him at the Fort House, and his fondness for the company of "handsome" young men. [155] He accepted and returned to London to make preparations, but soon after his arrival, the British requested that he proceed immediately to the Sudan, where the situation had deteriorated badly after his departure another revolt had arisen, led by the self-proclaimed Mahdi, Mohammed Ahmed. [43] Gordon disembarked the 4th Regiment with orders to take Quinsan while he sailed up and down the main canal in the Hyson, using the 32-pounder gun to blast apart the Taiping positions on the canal. [206], A particular aspect of Gordon's personality that stood out was his death wish, as everyone who knew him was convinced that he wanted to die. George was a U.S. National Guard Veteran. After meeting his old friend, Gordon assured Li that if Russia should attack he would resign his commission in the British Army to take up a commission in the Chinese Army, an action that if taken, risked prosecution under the Foreign Enlistments Act. [187] In his final months, Gordon oscillated between a longing for martyrdom and death versus an intense horror at the prospect of his own demise as the hour of his destruction rapidly approached. Gordon's Sudanese servants later stated that Gordon for once did not go out armed only with his rattan cane, but also took with him a loaded revolver and his sword, and died in mortal combat fighting the Ansar. George Gordon - Wynyard, Saskatchewan , Conley Funeral Home - Memories wall BROUGHT TO YOU BY Conley Funeral Home George Melvin Gordon Wynyard, Saskatchewan November 9, 1968 - May 13, 2020 Share Obituary: Tribute Wall Obituary & Events Share a memory Send Flowers Share a memory of George Melvin Gordon. A memorial service will be held in Isabella during the feast of Tabernacles in October for both Dirk and George. Your email will not be used for any other purpose. "[216] His body was desecrated and thrown down a well. [32] Gordon had heard of the Taiping Rebellion long before he had set sail for China, and he was at first sympathetic towards the Taipings, led by the charismatic madman Hong Xiuquan, who proclaimed himself to be the younger brother of Jesus Christ, viewing them as somewhat eccentric Christians. In the 1980s this quiet civil servant . [96] This bold move proved successful, as one chief then another pledged his loyalty to the Khedive, including Suleiman Zobeir himself, though the remainder retreated to the south. [189] The black Sudanese troops, many from what is now South Sudan, proved to be Gordon's best troops at Khartoum and numbered about twenty-three hundred. Funeral services 8:30 a.m. Friday, June 28 from the Dain-Cullinan Funeral Home and at 9 a.m. in St. Paul's Churc Under heavy fire from Ansar warriors on the bank, the two steamers turned back downriver. [132] In April, the government of the Cape Colony offered him the position of commandant of the Cape local forces, which Gordon declined. The employees sent by the Moldovan government to take over the ceded territory have been receiving bribes and trafficking in the most disgraceful manner. NEWS has reached us of the death of this veteran geologist, at the advanced age of 92. [88] The languages of Khedive's court were Turkish and French, not Arabic. In 1869, Isma'il spent 2 million Egyptian pounds (the equivalent to $300 million U.S. dollars in today's money) just on the party to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal, in what was described as the party of the century. A Florida man was seriously injured early Friday morning when he was struck by own vehicle after it hit a parked tractor-trailer on the exit ramp from Interstate 77 North at Turnersburg Highway.. [261], Equatoria: Building Egypt's empire in the Great Lakes region, Nicoll, Fergus and Nusairi, Osman (last updated 2020), Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust, "General Charles Gordon and the Mahdi Faith Under Fire in the Sudan", "Charles George Gordon (18331885): A Brief Biography", "Charles Gordon's Charitable Works: An Appreciation", "Last Stands, Custer, General Gordon, and Being a Christian Warrior", "Did General Charles Gordon Have Aspergers Syndrome? [47], The Ever Victorious Army was entirely a mercenary force whose only loyalty was to money and whose men were interested in fighting only in order to gain the chance to plunder. [257] Behrman wrote that the first part of Nutting's thesis, that Gordon had a death wish, is generally accepted by historians, but the second part, that Gordon was homosexual, is still the subject of much debate. Elated by these successes, Gordon wrote in his diary: "We are going to hold out here forever". Many of Gordon's papers were saved and collected by his two sisters, Helen Clark Gordon, who married Gordon's medical colleague in China, Dr. Moffit, and Mary Augusta, and possibly his niece Augusta, who married Gerald Henry Blunt. In 1982 disgusted with "Big Brother" encroaching on his business, he educated himself and others on law and courtroom procedure, and established a law school in Boise, Barristers Inn, which name was changed to George Gordon's School of Common Law when he moved to Isabella, Mo in 1984 following his patriarchal marriage to Jacqueline. The soldiers of the Egyptian Army were falln (peasant) conscripts who were both ill-paid and ill-trained. GEORGE GORDON OBITUARY Gordon, George George H. Gordon, Husband, Father, Grandfather, Oilman and decorated World War II veteran, died peacefully in Naples, Florida May 21. He is superior in manner and bearing to any of the foreigners whom I have come into contact with, and does not show outwardly that conceit which makes most of them repugnant in my sightWhat an elixir for a heavy heart-to see this splendid Englishman fight! He loved Nancy, his cherished wife of 39 years, as Christ loved the church. [201], On 5 January 1885, the Ansar took the fort at Omdurman, which allowed them to use their Krupp artillery to bring down enfilading fire on the defences of Khartoum. He will be much missed at work. [216] The massacre was finally halted by orders of the Mahdi. At Cairo, he received further instructions from Sir Evelyn Baring, and was appointed Governor-General with executive powers by the Khedive Tewfik Pasha, who also gave Gordon an edict ordering him to establish a government in the Sudan. Nutting made the controversial claim that the basis of Gordon's death wish was that he was gay, noting that Gordon never married, is not known to have had a relationship with any women, and often wished that he had been born a eunuch, which strongly suggested that Gordon wished to have no sexual desires at all. Peace be upon him. [233], In 1886, the Western Hospital for Fistula, Piles and other Diseases of the Rectum, at 278 Vauxhall Bridge Road, and backing onto Vincent Square London,[234] was renamed in honour of Gordon. [259] In Khartoum The Ultimate Imperial Adventure (2005), Michael Asher puts Gordon's works in the Sudan in a broad context. and "Sultan!" [117] Gordon disliked Baring, writing he had "a pretentious, grand, patronizing way around him. [229][230], Statues were erected in Trafalgar Square, London, in Chatham, Gravesend, Melbourne (Australia), and Khartoum. He went up to Bogos and wrote to the king proposing terms. I am nearly dead". In addition, one of the first Woolwich Free Ferry vessels was named Gordon in his memory. [204] On arriving at Khartoum on 28 January, the reconnaissance gunboats found that the city had been captured and Gordon had been killed just two days before, coincidentally, two days before his 52nd birthday. P.O. He was named for a prominent lawyer and Tammany Hall leader. It wasn't exactly fair to the Egyptian garrisons he had been sent to evacuate; they had no death wish". Im so deeply sorry for the loss of your father. "[231] The memorial is a Grade II listed building. He is survived by George and Jacqueline Gordon; four nieces he helped raise and home school; Kohl Gordon Conner and her girls Ruth and Faith; his brother Thor Eric Downing. [162] Gordon wanted to talk about the Congo, but Stead kept on pressing him to talk about the Sudan. [40], Gordon was honest and incorruptible, and unlike many Chinese officers, did not steal the money that was meant to pay his men, but rather insisted on paying the Ever Victorious Army on time and in full. [61] Many of the "scuttlers," as Gordon fondly called the homeless boys, were lodged at his own home, the Fort House. If you wish to make a donation, please consider one of the charities listed below. Always happy Gordon loved his family, and enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren, letting them comb his beautiful white hair and catching them in the "bear trap." [95] The younger Russell was described by his own father as an alcoholic and spendthrift who "was beyond help" as it was always the "same story-idleness, self-indulgence, gambling, and constant promises" broken time after time, leading his father to get him a job in the Sudan, where his laziness infuriated Gordon to no end. Gordon Newsam. Baker met with great difficulties and managed little beyond establishing a few posts along the Nile. All Rights Reserved. George Gordons School of Law [87] After Gordon resigned, Muhammad Rauf Pasha succeeded him as governor general of Sudan. [193], To keep up morale, Gordon had a military band perform concerts in the central plaza every Friday and Sunday evenings for free, and cast his own decorations for his men. the passing of George. George Gordon April 15, 1925 ~ May 21, 2021 96 Years Old Obituary & Services Tribute Wall Obituary George H. Gordon, Husband, Father, Grandfather, Oilman and decorated World War II veteran, died peacefully in Naples, Florida May 21. [219], In 1885, Gordon achieved the martyrdom he had been seeking at Khartoum as the British press portrayed him as a saintly Christian hero and martyr who had died nobly resisting the Islamic onslaught of the Mahdi. He was Ozark County's first National Merit Scholar winner. [130] Gordon believed that God's throne from which He governed the universe rested upon the earth, which was further surrounded by the firmament. I'm thinking of the entire family as you're celebrating the life of our beloved George. Funeral services will be 11:00 a.m. Tuesday, January 4, 2022 at the Jurrens Funeral Home in George, IA with Pastor Jeremy Winter, officiating. [12] Gordon disobeyed orders and left on the first ship to China, an action that very much angered the Army's commander, the Duke of Cambridge. [215] When Gordon's head was unwrapped at the Mahdi's feet, he ordered the head transfixed between the branches of a tree "where all who passed it could look in disdain, children could throw stones at it, and the hawks of the desert could sweep and circle above. [25] Gordon called the Romanians the "most fickle and intriguing people on the earth. [209] The Ansar took no prisoners and all of the approximately 7,000 defenders were killed. Mr. Pinsent, who was long famous in Canada, but who did not gain wider international recognition until one of his final performances, in the 2006 film "Away From Her," died on Feb. 25 in . [201], Gordon and the Mahdi never met, but the two men, both charismatic and intensely religious soldiers who saw themselves as fighting for God, had developed a grudging mutual respect. [13] Gordon was especially impressed with Philippians 1:21 where St. Paul wrote: "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain", a passage he underlined in his Bible and often quoted. [56] The British Army promoted Gordon to lieutenant-colonel on 16 February 1864,[57] and he was appointed a Companion of the Order of the Bath on 9 December 1864. [43], Gordon then reorganised his force and advanced against Kunshan, which was captured at considerable loss. Eric Matthew Gairy, politician: born 18 February 1922; Member of Legislative Council, Grenada 1951-52 and 1954-55, Minister of Trade and Production 1956-57, Chief Minister and Minister of Finance . I miss you my dear George; emailing you in the morning about orders was a norm thing but now getting answers from someone else using your email address feels really weired. Im grateful to I got to know George thru his sons, Greg and Tom, long before I actually met him. Search by Name. [96] The other force for law and order were the much-feared bashi-bazouks, irregulars who were not paid a salary, but were expected to support themselves by looting. [137] Gordon arrived in Shanghai in July and met Li Hongzhang, and learned that there was risk of war with Russia. Obituaries act as quiet reminders of the finite nature of our lives. I've worked with George the past five years and have a great deal of respect for him. George was born January 27, 1994 in Fort Worth, Texas where he enjoyed going to the zoo and riding his jeep in the park and at Granny Janny's house. Words cannot express how shocked and saddened I am to hear about [218] In a sermon, the Bishop of Chichester stated: "Nations who envied our greatness rejoiced now at our weakness and our inability to protect our trusted servant. All the Europeans, with some rare exceptions, whom he has honoured with his confidence have cheated him. Yet, for those who have experienced the death of a family member or friend, an obituary means so much more. The English uniform produces an immediate sensation". [248], In the 20th century, many British military leaders came to have a critical view of Gordon, with Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery writing that Gordon was "unfit for independent command, mentally unbalanced, a fanatic, self-imposed martyr", adding that he should never have been sent to the Sudan and the GladstoneGordon relationship was a case study in dysfunctional civilmilitary relations. [133] A deeply depressed Gordon wrote in his letter declining the offer that he knew, for reasons that he refused to explain, that he had only ten years left to live, and he wanted to do something great and grand in his last ten years. However, in 1953 the statue, minus a large slice of its pedestal, was reinstalled on the Victoria Embankment, in front of the newly-built Ministry of Defence main buildings. [89] As the attempts of his grandfatherMuhammad Ali the Greatto depose the ruling Ottoman family in favour of his own family had failed due to the opposition of Russia and Britain, the imperialistic Ismai'il had turned his attention southwards and was determined to build an Egyptian empire in Africa, planning on subjugating the Great Lakes region and the Horn of Africa. In his 62nd year, George Gordon passed unexpectedly into the presence of his Lord and Saviour. Share. [52] At Kitang, Gordon was wounded for the second time on 21 March 1864, when a Taiping soldier shot him in the thigh. [52] Gordon then returned to Kunshan and disbanded his army in June 1864. He was born April 5, 1967, and resided in Baker, LA, until moving to Baton Rouge after marriage in 1988. GEORGE GORDON, LL.D. [187], By the end of 1884, both the garrison and the population of Khartoum were starving to death; there were no horses, donkeys, cats, or dogs left in Khartoum as the people had eaten all of them. His words started out with "I'm here to serve" and ended with those words, after humbly explaining all the amazing things he did at Sterling. We can only speculate that his increasing religious devotion may have been an outward manifestation of an internal struggle against sexual temptation.[61]. (for "Murderer of Gordon"). [121], In March 1879, Gessi had inflicted a sharp defeat on Zobeir even before Gordon had joined him to pursue their old enemy. [93], Typical of the men that Khedive Isma'il Pasha hired was Valentine Baker, a British Army officer dishonorably discharged after being convicted of raping a young woman in England that he had been asked to chaperon. Gordon's papers, as well as some of his grandfather's (Samuel Enderby III), were accepted by the British Library around 1937. "[187], At another point, a death-obsessed Gordon wrote in his diary: "Better a bullet to the brain than to flicker out unheeded". [56] The British journalist Mark Urban, wrote: "People saw a brave man who acted with humanity in an otherwise ghastly conflict, standing out from the other mercenaries, adventurers, and cut-throats in wanting almost nothing for himself". [208], The manner of Gordon's death is uncertain, but it was romanticised in a popular painting by George William Joy General Gordon's Last Stand (1893, currently in the Leeds City Art Gallery), and again in the film Khartoum (1966) with Charlton Heston as Gordon. View obituary. [140] At one point during a meeting with the Council of Ministers, an enraged Gordon picked up a Chinese-English dictionary, looked up the word idiocy, and then pointed at the equivalent Chinese word with one hand while pointing at the ministers with the other. Of Marton formerly of Auckland. Gordon was quite critical of the way Chinese generals fought the war, observing that the Chinese were willing to inflict and accept gargantuan losses in battle, an approach Gordon disapproved of. [102] Chaill-Long in return painted a very unflattering picture of Gordon in his 1884 book The Three Prophets, whom he portrayed as a bully, a raging alcoholic, an incompetent leader, and a rank coward. Gordon was sickened by the poverty of the Irish farmers, which led him to write a six-page memo to the Prime Minister, William Gladstone, urging land reforms in Ireland. [174], The Mahdi ended his letter with the remark: "I am the Expected Mahdi and I do not boast! [33] The Anglo-French force remained in northern China until April 1862, then, under General Charles William Dunbar Staveley, withdrew to Shanghai to protect the European settlement from the rebel Taiping army. [47] Gordon felt very uncomfortable commanding this force and at one point had to order the summary execution of one of his officers when the latter tried to take the Ever-Victorious Army over to the Taipings, who had offered a generous bribe for switching sides. Second only to his faith, was the great joy George found in his family. The Grand Valley community is mourning the death of George Gordon, who coupled his philanthropic passions for education and art throughout West Michigan. This is the figure which, since April 1959, stands at the Gordon's School in Woking. Ever since the realisation of the sacrament, I have been turned upside down". [109], Gordon grew close to the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, an evangelical Christian group based in London dedicated to ending slavery all over the world, and who regularly celebrated Gordon's efforts to end slavery in the Sudan. Deepest condolences for George's loss and my heartfelt sympathy to family and friends at this sad time. The pedestal bears the arms of the Gordon clan and of the borough of Southampton, and also Gordon's name in Chinese. [83] Gordon and Gessi demanded that Ahmed Pasha allow them to meet the girl alone, had their request granted after much arm-twisting, and then met the girl, who ultimately revealed she wanted to go home. Jackie was born April 7, 1944, to Rudy . George Harold Folk, 84, of Findlay, passed away peacefully Monday, Feb. 27, 2023, at Mennonite Memorial Home, Bluffton. With heavy hearts, we announce the death of George Gordon Ross (Columbia, South Carolina), born in Berkeley, California, who passed away on February 2, 2023 at the age of 89. May God wrap His mighty arms around each of you at this time! He first displayed his death wish as he wrote at the time that he had gone "to the Crimea, hoping, without having a hand in it, to be killed". So, therefore, I believe in our active employment in a future life, and I like the thought. He was first and foremost a passionate follower of Jesus Christ and lived his life in humble but firm faith, pressing on towards the upward call he felt from a young age. Never expected Besides working to end slavery, Gordon carried out a series of reforms such as abolishing torture and public floggings where those opposed to the Egyptian state were flogged with a whip known as the kourbash made of buffalo hide. He was born in Fortuna, CA 75 years ago to Winton and Evelyn Chase Gordon. [249], As a young man, Winston Churchill shared in the national consensus that Gordon was one of Britain's greatest heroes. I repeat to you the words of Allah, Do not destroy yourself. There was many an early Sunday morning where I would have to phone him at home with some technical issue. [22] As he travelled to Bessarabia, he commented in his letters home about the richness and fertility of the Romanian countryside, which produced delicious fruits and vegetables in great abundance, and the poverty of the Romanian peasants. Born in the Manse of Urquhart, Morayshire, on 23rd July, 1801, the son of the late Eev. [145] Gordon wrote: "The peasantry of the Northwest and Southwest of Ireland are much worse off than any of the inhabitants of Bulgaria, Asia Minor, China, India, or the Sudan". The countenance bore a pleasant frank appearance, eyes light blue with a fearless look in them, hair crisp and inclined to curl, conversation short and decided". "Death is swallowed up in victory." Suddenly at home on Wednesday 25 January 2017; aged 86 years. Taught by his father to love the sea and all things nautical, George was a boater through and through. OBITUARY George M. Gordon June 19, 1947 - September 11, 2022 - September 11, 2022 [65], Faught maintained that Gordon was a heterosexual whose Christian beliefs led him to maintain his virginity right up to his death, because he believed that sexual intercourse was incompatible with his faith. The most popular account of Gordon's death was that he put on his ceremonial gold-braided blue uniform of the Governor-General together with the Pasha's red fez and that he went out unarmed, except with his rattan cane, to be cut down by the Ansar. [157] In 1882, nationalist rage in Egypt against Baring's economic policies led to the revolt by Colonel Urabi Pasha, which was put down by Anglo-Egyptian troops. [46] One British officer serving with the Ever Victorious Army described Gordon at this time as: "a light-built, wiry, middle-sized man, of about thirty two years of age, in the undress uniform of the Royal Engineers. [39] These requirements led Staveley to choose Gordon. Gordon hoped to have the influential local leader, Sebehr Rahma, appointed to take control of Sudan, but the British government refused to support a former slaver. [187] Among the dead were Gordon's unofficial spokesman, the passionate wordsmith and Times journalist Frank Powers, Gordon's Chief of Staff, Colonel Stewart, and the French consul in Khartoum, Lon Herbin[fr], all of whom Gordon was sending to Cairo to plead for relief. OBITUARY George M. Gordon June 19, . His legacy in China has been influenced by subsequent political developments, as the Qing dynasty was overthrown in the Xinhai Revolution and replaced by a republic. Copyright 2023 Echovita Inc. All rights reserved. Gordon died May 21 at age 96. [18], Gordon spent thirty-four consecutive days in the trenches around Sevastopol, and earned a reputation as an able and brave young officer. He was warm, steadfast, and peaceable. Would you like to offer George Gordon Rosss loved ones a condolence message? [131] These religious beliefs mirrored differing aspects of Gordon's personality as he believed that he could choose his own fate through the force of his personality and a fatalistic streak often ending his letters with D.V (Deo volente Latin for "God willing", i.e. [136], An exchange of telegrams ensued between the War Office in London and Gordon in Bombay about just what exactly he was planning on doing in China, and when Gordon replied that he would find out when he got there, Gordon was ordered to stay. [218] Stones were thrown at the windows at 10 Downing Street as Gladstone was denounced as the "Murderer of Gordon", the Judas figure who betrayed the Christ-like figure of Gordon. [65] Urban wrote: It is possible that he had sexual feelings for these urchins, but there is no evidence that he ever acted upon them. "[175] Even Wolseley had cause to regret sending Gordon, as the general revealed himself to be a loose cannon whose press statements attacking the Liberal government were "obstructing rather than furthering his plans to take over the Sudan". [96] The peoples of Equatoria had traditionally worshipped spirits present in nature, but were steadily being converted to Christianity by missionaries from Europe and the United States, which further encouraged Gordon in his efforts as governor of Equatoria, who notwithstanding his position working for the Egyptian government, saw himself as doing God's work in Equatoria. [190], Gladstone was opposed to hanging onto the Sudan, saying in a speech in the House of Commons that sending a relief force to Khartoum would be "a war of conquest against a people struggling to be free. George was many things, most of which I did not know, but he was above all a good and honest man. Given that Gordon himself in his interview with Stead had stated: "The moment it is known that we have given up the game, every man will go over to the Mahdi", his decision to reveal that the Egyptians were pulling out remains inexplicable. [98], After a short stay in Cairo, Gordon proceeded to Khartoum via Suakin and Berber. Our deepest sympathies go out to cousin Nancy, and her family. [91] As part of his Westernisation programme, Isma'il often hired Westerners to work in his government both in Egypt and in the Sudan. Very sorry for your family loss. He was the widower of Kay Stull Gordon whom he married May 28, 1977, and preceded him in death on November 23, 2017. [228], News of Gordon's death caused an outpouring of public grief across Britain. Loved husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather. [159] The Ansar captured a large number of Remington rifles and ammunition cases together with many Krupp artillery guns and their shells. [183], Gordon decided to stay and hold Khartoum despite the orders of the Gladstone government to merely report about the best means of supervising the evacuation of the Sudan.