Robert Gordon

pu,sgobits2 GORDON-Robert Gordon, Former Pasadena area resident, died January 18 following several years of declining health. In recent years, he had been living the Pilgrim Haven Retirement Community in Los Altos, California. Dr. Gordon was born and raised in New York City, the son of Eastern European Jewish immigrants. After earning a BS in Mechanical Engineering at Cooper Union, he married Malla Wishman, also of New York City, and they moved to Dayton Ohio, where he had a job testing German aircraft engines for the Army Air Corps. During World War II, he served in the European Theater of Operations as a navigator on a B-17 bomber, completing 30 combat missions. Following the war, Bob and Malla settled in Southern California, where he helped pioneer the space age, inventing innovative rocket engines for Aerojet General Corporation. One of these engines is now on display in at the Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian Museum in Washington D.C. In the 1950's rocket pioneer Theodore Von Karman convinced Aerojet to send Bob to UC Berkeley where he completed a PhD in Nuclear Engineering. After managing Aerojet's nuclear facility in San Ramon for several years, he eventually returned first to Sierra Madre and later Arcadia. Still working for Aerojet, he continued to innovate at the intersection of the space age and the age of nuclear energy. In 1971, he founded Structural Composite Industries, a technology spin-off from Aerojet. Today SCI is the worlds largest producer of high pressure composite cylinders. After retiring fr om SCI in 1984, Bob and Malla continued to pursue their lifelong passion for sailing, with trips to the Greek Isles and the Caribbean. The arrival of grandchildren in the 70's and 80's brought about a renewed focus on family, with frequent gatherings both in Southern California and the San Francisco Bay Area. Bob and Malla were active members and supporters of the Pasadena Jewish Temple. A series of intense discussions with the Rabbi there started Bob thinking about the relationship between ethics and evolu tion, a passion that would fill much of his latter years. Reinventing himself as an author, Bob co-authored "Aerojet: The Creative Company", a history of Aerojet and the early days of rocketry. In 2001, Bob & Malla moved > to Pilgrim Haven in northern California to be closer to their daughter. While there he wrote two additional books, "Ethics Based on the Science of Evolution: Nature and Nurture" and an autobiography. He also became an active member of the Humanist Community of Silicon Valley. Although his health had been declining for some time, his quick death from heart failure on the morning of January 18 was sudden and unexpected. Engineer & innovator, husband, father & grandfather, entrepreneur & author, he will be sorely missed. He is survived by Malla, his wife of 65 years, their children Stuart Gordon of Long Beach and Peri Frantz of Los Gatos, and four grandchildren. A memorial service will be held on January 25, at 11:00 AM in the Fellowship Hall, Pilgrim Haven, 373 Pine Lane, Los Altos. In lieu o f flowers, donations may be made to The Humanist Community, at PO > Box 60069, Palo Alto, CA 94306.