Gordon Curtis Thompson

Gordon Curtis Thompson

Scholar, Sailor, Sightseer

Age 90, passed away on May 2 ,2013 in Westminster, CA. He was born on March 11, 1923 on a farm in Clay County, Minnesota. He lived in Minnesota until he was 9 years old. Then he and his mother, Minnie Norby moved to Long Beach, CA. He graduated from Polytechnic High School in Long Beach in 1941. During World War II he served in the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard before attending the Merchant Marine Academy in Great Neck, New York, where he graduated in 1946. He served as a deck officer in the Merchant Marine, both during and after the war. Gordon returned to Long Beach to earn a BA degree from Whittier College in 1949. He went on to receive a MA in education in 1958. He then went to work for the Long Beach Unified School District as a teacher and then as an administrator in the Bellflower Unified School District. He retired in 1980 after 30 years as an educator. Gordon first married Sally Bombel in 1947 and had two daughters, Kathryn and Nancy. He later married Harriett Knoblock in 1958. Together they raised a son, Thomas and daughter, Amanda. Gordon and Harriett were married for 47 years until her death in 2005. They enjoyed entertaining and traveling and took many trips around the world. Gordon is survived by his son, Thomas and his daughters, Kathryn, Nancy and Amanda; his grandchildren, Otis, Emily, Christa, Andrew, Alexis, Christian, Lauren, Jonathan, Bryan and Ethan; several great grandchildren; his niece, Gloria, and his sister-in-law, Susan. A celebration of Gordon's life life will be held on May 26, 2013 at Hof's Hut, 10900 Los Alamitos Blvd, Los Alamitos, CA from 1-4pm. In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial donations be made to Heifer International (www.heifer.org. )