On June 12, 2020 Glen Gordon, loving husband and father of three daughters, passed away peacefully in his sleep at the age of 88.
Glen was born on November 16, 1931 at Unity Hospital, Brooklyn, New York. He was the third child of Sylvia and Samuel Gordon. He received his undergraduate degree from New York University with a major in Accounting and soon after enlisted in the Air Force. Upon finishing his time as an airman, he went directly to the University of Chicago to get his masters degree and PhD in Political Science. He met his wife, Nelly, at the University of Chicago. They married on December 22nd, 1959 in Mexico City.
Glen started his life in Academia at Michigan State University. In 1964, the family moved to Amherst and he joined the Political Science department at the University of Massachusetts. He became chairman of the Political Science department in 1975. In 1984, Glen became Dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences. He served fourteen years as Dean and three years as University Provost. He retired after 38 years at UMASS. In 2003, in recognition of his contributions to the university, the newly built Political Economic Research Institute building was named in his honor: Gordon Hall. Even with such impressive achievements, he always said his greatest accomplishment was his three girls.
Glen was a person who highly valued his family and friendships. He loved spending time with his grandchildren, Alicia, Nathaniel, Robert and David. He cherished reading Harry Potter with David. Glen also loved the sun and the beach. He spent many summers vacationing with his family on the Cape and in Mexico.
Glen loved music. He was an exceptionally talented pianist and adored performing in the Valley Light Opera’s Gilbert and Sullivan productions. He also loved baseball and his beloved Red Sox. When growing up, baseball was something over which he and his father developed a strong bond. This love of sports was also the core of his relationship with his daughter Dina. On Sundays, he was always working on the New York Times crossword puzzle. He was an avid reader and loved a good mystery.
Glen is survived by his loving wife Nelly; his three daughters Vivian, Elena (Dina) and Lillian and their spouses (Gil, Ed and Fernando); and his four grandchildren Alicia, Nathaniel, Robert and David. His sense of humor, decency, fairness and intelligence will be greatly missed.
A celebration of Glen’s life will be held at a future date. In lieu of flowers, donations in Glen’s memory may be made to the Valley Light Opera, https://www.vlo.org or a charity of your choice. Those wishing to sign Glen’s online guestbook may do so at https://douglassfuneral.com.
His family would also like to thank his doctors and nurses at the Yawkey Cancer Center at Mass General Hospital, Dr. Ross Middler from Valley Medical, Dr. Newsome and the nurses at Cooley Dickinson Hospital, the nurses and staff from Overlook VNA and his close friend and former student Doug Telling.