John E. Gordon Jr., retired USAF major
John E. Gordon Jr., Maj. (Ret.) USAF, died the morning Friday, April 24, 2026, and five precious grandchildren lost their dear PopPop. John died after a sudden painful battle with pancreatitis, which came on out of nowhere and left us all in shock. His sons, Jonathon and Michael; and his wife, Marge, were with him when he passed.
John was born July 24, 1949, in Syracuse, N.Y., and moved to Delaware as a young child. His parents were John “Jack” Gordon and Helen "Lynn" Hoffman Gordon Jankus, both deceased. He had six siblings, Deborah Moore (deceased), Patricia McMichael (Charlie, deceased), Sharon “Cheri” Gordon-Patterson, Gerilyn Gaskill (Howard), Joseph Gordon (Cheryle) and Theresa Davis (James), all who he took great pleasure in guiding through life’s adventures.
He also had several stepsiblings, Jimmy Prichard, Rebecca Prichard Dammann, Jon Prichard, David Prichard, Jen Yoon, Tomas Gordon, Tara Gordon Fairchild, Chris Lohr, Sean Lohr and Matt Lohr.
John and Marge met when they were both 16 years old and celebrated 55 years of being happily married last June. They have two sons. Jonathon is married to Stephanie with a daughter and a son. Michael is married to Kelly with two sons and a daughter. Those five grandchildren were John’s greatest pleasure in his retirement. He loved them dearly and enjoyed being with them as often as possible.
John graduated from Salesianum High School and Keene State College, and received his master’s degree in public administration from Troy State University.
John was a Cub Scout and then became active in the Civil Air Patrol. After graduating college, he enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served as an enlisted man for six years until he attended Officer’s Training School. He retired as a major in May of 1995, and he started working for Beebe Medical Center shortly after. He retired from Beebe in 2018 so he could stay home to play with his grandchildren and pretend to be a gardener.
His greatest pleasures besides his family were helping whenever and wherever he was needed. He volunteered as a reading coach, was active in Relay For Life for many years, and found joy in taking care of the Harbor of Refuge lighthouse. He was on the board of directors of The Delaware River & Bay Lighthouse Foundation.
John will be missed by his wife, Marge; his sons and their families, his siblings and their families, and all the many people who became like family to him over the years.
Maj. Gordon will be laid to rest with military honors at 2 p.m., Friday, May 15, at Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery, 26669 Patriots Way, Millsboro.
In lieu of flowers, donations in memory of John may be sent to Delaware River & Bay Lighthouse Foundation, P.O. Box 708, Lewes, DE, 19958.
Arrangements are in the care of Short Funeral Services in Milton.
Condolences may be shared at shortfuneralservicesandcremation.com.
