Joe L. Gordon

1939 - 2022

Joe L. Gordon
February 16, 2022
Clover, South Carolina - Mr. Joe Lee Gordon, 82, of Clover, SC passed away Wednesday, February 16, 2022, at CaroMont Regional Medical Center, Gastonia, NC. Born July 17, 1939, in Monroe, NC, he was the son of the late Charlie Lee and Mattie Delmar Chapman Gordon.
Joe was a graduate of Walter Bickett High School, Monroe, NC, Wingate College, and East Carolina University. He also earned graduate degrees from the University of South Carolina and Winthrop University.
As a lifelong educator, Joe began his career teaching in Hamlett, NC and Columbia, SC. He moved his young family to Clover, SC in 1971 to become Assistant Principal of Clover High School, where he and his wife fell in love with this community. He also served the Clover School District as Principal of Clover High School and Assistant Superintendent of Clover Schools until his retirement in 1994.
After Joe's retirement, he felt that he still had work to do in his community. This led him to serve on the Clover School District Board of Trustees from November 1998, to the present. He served as Vice Chairman and worked on multiple projects over the last twenty-four years including the building and opening of Crowders Creek Elementary School, Larne Elementary School, Oakridge Middle School, Oakridge Elementary School, the new Clover Middle School, and the Clover School District Community YMCA. He was recognized for 20 years of service on the Clover School Board of Trustees in 2018 by the South Carolina School Board Association.
Joe is survived by his wife of 53 years, Kay Black Gordon, his children Jennifer Kay Gordon Johnson (Matt), Sherer Lee Gordon Hopkins (Mark), and John Joseph Gordon (Ally), his grandchildren McKenna Kathleen Johnson, Mary Grace Hopkins, Noah Lee Hopkins, Mattie Clare Johnson, Aila Kay Gordon, Lee Alexander Gordon, and special life-giving friend, Donna Thomas. He is preceded in death by his brother, Charles Hyman Gordon (Mickey).
A Service of Witness to the Resurrection will be held at 3:00 pm on Friday, February 18, 2022, at Lakeview Memory Gardens, 1774 Filbert Highway, York, SC, 29745. The family will receive friends following the service at Lakeview.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Stellie J. Jackson Enrichment Center, 315 Mobley Street, Clover, SC 29710 or the Clover Presbyterian Church 202 Kings Mountain Street, Clover, SC 29710.
Online condolences may be made at www.mlfordsons.com
M. L. Ford & Sons Funeral Home, Clover, SC is serving the family of Mr. Gordon.