Alvin Kim Gordon

Our loving, hard-working, devoted father and grandfather, Alvin Kim Gordon, passed away August 28, 2022, surrounded by his loved ones, finally achieving a very well-earned rest at the age of 82.
He was born to Alvin Herron (Tony) Gordon and Florence Kim Gordon on June 18, 1940 at his grandparents’ house in Tooele, Utah.  Kim was the younger brother of Elaine Gordon Adams, and the older brother to David Gordon.  He grew up in Tooele, spending time riding his horse, Tango, working on his uncle’s farm, playing football and swimming.  He was awarded a swimming scholarship to the University of Utah.  The summer before starting college, he met Susan Gillette, his next-door neighbor’s niece who had come to spend the summer with her Aunt Melba.  He asked Susan out the very day she arrived, and although he went to the U of U and she went to BYU in the fall, they fell in love and married in the Salt Lake Temple the next year on September 23, 1959.
They both worked so hard for Dad to complete his Bachelors of Science and then his Master’s Degrees, all while supporting their growing family.  He started teaching Biology at Highland High School in 1961 and taught there for 40 years.  He eventually also taught AP Biology, Anatomy and Physiology, basically “all of the -ologies,” as he used to say.  He was inquisitive and never stopped learning, nearly completing his Ph.D. and staying current with new technologies. He also started the Swimming and Diving Teams at Highland and coached them for 25 years.
During summers, he held multiple jobs, including managing the swimming program at the Salt Lake Swimming and Tennis Club.  He coached the Swimming and Diving Teams there, too.  He taught swimming and diving to thousands of kids over the years.  He was especially talented in teaching kids with special needs, everything from kids who were visually and hearing impaired, to kids with limb differences.  He instinctively knew how to help kids bring out their best and build confidence, while maximizing their potential.  Many of these kids were on the teams and competed at very high levels, too.
He then spent many summers working for the U.S. Forest Service, starting as a Wilderness Guard, a firefighter, and eventually as an EMT on some of the larger fires.  He even got to be Smokey Bear on more than one occasion.  Although he was older than many of his coworkers, he worked as hard as any of them. Dad loved the mountains, animals and wilderness of Utah, so the Forest Service was a natural fit for him.
He helped develop labs for his AP Biology students and taught those classes to AP students from across Utah at the U of U for 16 years.  He became an Advanced Placement Reader, the group of educators which evaluates and grades the AP Exams for all U.S. AP Biology students.
Dad was completely devoted to his family and set an amazing example for us all.  As his children, we were lucky that he was able to involve us in several of his jobs.  He was our swim coach both as children and in high school, and we all took Biology and AP Biology from him.  He was an amazing husband and great father.  We always knew how much he loved us, and how proud of us he was.  Later, he and Mom were professional grandparents, never missing a baseball game, dance recital, swim meet or water polo match, gymnastics meet, lacrosse game or cello concert of any of their grandkids.
Dad was always looking for ways to help family, friends, neighbors and friends. He was an LDS bishop for many years and held other positions in his church.  After he retired from teaching, he joined Mom as a volunteer at St. Mark’s Hospital.  He enjoyed helping visitors and was a great friend to many of the volunteers and workers there.
He was preceded in death by his beloved sweetheart, Susan, who passed away one year and 29 days before him.  He is survived by his loving children: Mike (Debbie) Gordon, Steve (Liz) Gordon, Tawna (Ron) Nielsen and Stephanie Gordon; Grandchildren: Jason (Tiffany) Gordon, Mikelle Gordon, Tyler Nielsen, Jessie Gordon, Jeni Gordon and Alexandra Gordon: Great-granddaughter Abbi Bright.
Thank you to the staff at Meadow Peak Assisted Living Center for the wonderful support you gave to Dad and our family in the last months of his life.  You made our lives a little easier knowing that he was well taken care of when we couldn’t be there.
In his honor, think about the teachers, coaches and other people who helped you get through your youth.  Reach out and thank them, if possible, and pay it forward.  In lieu of flowers, please donate to your local elementary school, donatelife.net, https://nuzzlesandco.org or naacp.org/donate.
Graveside Services will be held at Memorial Holladay Cemetery, 4900 South Memory Lane, Holladay, UT 84117 on Wednesday, September 7th, at 11 am.  He loved and accepted everyone and wasn’t big on formality, so casual dress would be preferred, especially given the expected weather.
God of the Open Air
These are the things I prize and hold of dearest worth;
Light of the sapphire skies, peace of the silent hills,
Shelter of forests, comfort of the grass, music of birds.
Murmur of little rills, shadow of clouds that swiftly pass,
And, after showers, the smell of flowers and of the good brown earth,
And best of all, along the way, friendship and mirth.
 
So let me keep these treasures of the humble heart in true possession, owning them by love;
And when at last I can no longer move among them freely, but must part from the green fields and from the waters clear,
Let me not creep into some darkened room and hide from all that makes the world so bright and dear;
But throw the windows wide to welcome the light;
And while I clasp a well-beloved hand,
Let me once more have sight of the deep sky and the far-smiling land,
Then gently fall on sleep and breathe my body back to Nature’s care,
My spirit out to thee, God of the open air.
Henry Van Dyke, 1852-1933
Service Information

Graveside Service
September 7, 2022 at 11:00 AM
Memorial Holladay Cemetery, 4900 South Memory Lane (1990 East), Holladay, Utah 84117