george gordon obituary

He was a manager of mine for a small while and I will always remember how kind and easy going he was.. and his memorable laugh, Always there Gordon is survived by his three children Scott, Dana and Whitney, His sister Dee and three step sons Bob, Kirk and Jeff, and "eight of the best grandkids . [210], The British press criticised the relief force for arriving two days late, but the main relief force was nowhere near Khartoum by then and only the reconnaissance party under Sir Charles Wilson on two gunboats had attempted to reach Khartoum, though it was later argued that the Mahdi's forces had good intelligence, and if the camel corps had advanced earlier, the final attack on Khartoum would also have come earlier. The most popular account of Gordon's death was that he put on his ceremonial gold-braided blue uniform of the Governor-General together with the Pasha's red fez and that he went out unarmed, except with his rattan cane, to be cut down by the Ansar. [69], King Leopold II then asked Gordon again to take charge of the Congo Free State. If we can not answer leave a message and we will get back to you as [84] Gordon and Gessi threatened to go to the British and Italian press if she was not released at once, a threat that proved sufficient to win the girl her freedom. [184] One Cabinet minister wrote: "The London newspapers and the Tories clamor for an expedition to Khartoum, the former from ignorance, the latter because it is the best model of embarrassing us Of course it is not an impossible undertaking, but it is melancholy to think of the waste of lives and the treasure which it must involve". He is greatly missed by all who were touched by his intellectual kindness. Eric Matthew Gairy, politician: born 18 February 1922; Member of Legislative Council, Grenada 1951-52 and 1954-55, Minister of Trade and Production 1956-57, Chief Minister and Minister of Finance . He went up to Bogos and wrote to the king proposing terms. [40] In Sudan, Sudanese historians have traditionally focused on the Mahdi and his rebellion, with Gordon only being relevant as the enemy general during the Siege of Khartoum, and his abolitionist work largely ignored. [187] In one of the last letters Gordon had smuggled out, he wrote: "I expect Her Majesty's Government are in a precious rage with me for holding out, and so forcing their hands". your email below for our complimentary daily grief messages. No; the conscience of the nation felt that a strain rested upon it". Gordon hoped to have the influential local leader, Sebehr Rahma, appointed to take control of Sudan, but the British government refused to support a former slaver. [201] However, Faught wrote that there was a fundamental difference between Gordon and the Mahdi in that Gordon never tried to convert the Muslims of the Sudan to Christianity whereas the Mahdi was an "Islamic extremist" who believed he would establish a worldwide caliphate, looking forward to the day when he would "see the world bow before him". [233], In 1886, the Western Hospital for Fistula, Piles and other Diseases of the Rectum, at 278 Vauxhall Bridge Road, and backing onto Vincent Square London,[234] was renamed in honour of Gordon. Leave your condolences to the family on this memorial page or send flowers to show you care. Gordon agreed with Lord Elgin that after the Chinese authorities had murdered a group of British and French officers travelling under a white flag to parley that a reprisal was in order, but called the burning of the Summer Palace "vandal-like" and informed his sister in a letter that "it made one's heart sore" to burn it. Elated by these successes, Gordon wrote in his diary: "We are going to hold out here forever". He loved his Heavenly Father and his Saviour, and he was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for which he held many positions and worked faithfully in many capacities. [27] Throughout his life, Gordon was always a keen amateur photographer and was elected a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society to honour him for his Armenian photographs. [114] Gordon was well-known for being utterly obstinate, joking that: "The Gordons and the camels are of the same race. [118], Gordon carried no weapons except for his rattan cane (though the bashi-bazouks were armed with rifles and swords), but Gordon showed utterly no fear while his interpreter and the bashi-bazouks were visibly nervous as the rebels numbered about 3,000. Family and friends are welcome to leave their condolences on this memorial page and share them with the family. George, In a world moving inexorably towards conformity, it would be well to remember Gordon of Khartoum. Gordon believed in reincarnation. During the Crimean war, Gordon picked up an addiction to Turkish cigarettes which was to last for his rest of his life, and many commented that smoking was Gordon's most conspicuous vice as he always seemed to have a cigarette at his lips. The system remained the same creaking slow, utterly corrupt, and oppressive apparatus trampling down ordinary people that it had always been. Northview Funeral Chapel takes safety seriously. He was a very kind man and I was sorry to hear of his passing. During his time in Anatolia, Gordon embraced the new technology of the camera to take what the Canadian historian C. Brad Faught called a series of "evocative photographs" of the people and landscape of Armenia. Second only to his faith, was the great joy George found in his family. If you wish to make a donation, please consider one of the charities listed below. Whether religion or vanity, or the softening of the brain I don't know, but he seems to be alternatively arrogant and slavish, vain and humble, in his senses and out of them. He was warm, steadfast, and peaceable. The Reverend Gordon Graham has taken the biblical injunction to "consider the lilies of the field" to extremes. Nutting's book was noteworthy as the first book to argue that Gordon had a death wish. He was named for a prominent lawyer and Tammany Hall leader. Gordon then took his force through the country, seizing towns until, with the aid of Imperial troops, capturing the city of Suzhou in November. Never expected [245] The British historian Alex von Tunzelmann criticised the film for portraying Gordon and the Mahdi regularly meeting and as frres ennemis, though she added that it is true that Gordon and the Mahdi did exchange letters. [181], The advance of the rebels against Khartoum was combined with a revolt in the eastern Sudan. He was born January 1, 1942 in Indianapolis to the late Lester Gordon and Helen Waldron Gordon. Gordon was sickened by the poverty of the Irish farmers, which led him to write a six-page memo to the Prime Minister, William Gladstone, urging land reforms in Ireland. [67], His favourite books were The Imitation of Christ by Thomas Kempis, Christ Mystical by Joseph Hall, and the poem The Dream of Gerontius by John Henry Newman. [46] After the battle, Gordon was hailed as a liberator from the Taipings by the ordinary Chinese people. [238], The Corps of Royal Engineers, Gordon's own Corps, commissioned a statue of Gordon on a camel. [163] Gordon offered up a 19th-century anticipation of the domino theory, claiming: The danger arises from the influence which the spectacle of a conquering Mahometan Power established close to your frontiers will exercise upon the population which you govern. A cornor [i.e., corner] in palace hall. Nephew to John and Delcie Moriarty, Jim Moriarty (late Brenda), Lorraine Hatley (late Bill). Gordon was a valued member of the West Michigan community and made a tremendous impact on Grand Valley. He was a wonderful man and its such a tragedy to lose him so young. [189] Gordon had a low opinion of the Egyptian, Turkish, and Arab Sudanese troops under his commandwhom he constantly described as a mutinous, badly disciplined, and ill-trained rabble good only for looting but had a much higher opinion of his Black Sudanese soldiers, most of them former slaves who would rather die fighting as free men than live as slaves again; it was well known that the Mahdi's forces were going to enslave the Blacks of Khartoum once they took the city. Initially, the siege of Khartoum was more in nature a blockade rather than a true siege as the Mahdi's forces lacked the strength to wage a proper siege, for example, only cutting the telegraphy lines in April 1884. They celebrated H.E's [His Excellency] arrival with an indescribable uproar". [4] For the same services, he was appointed a Chevalier of the Legion of Honour by the Government of France on 16 July 1856. George G. Gordon 80, of Indianapolis, passed away December 18, 2022. Gordon assured the people of Khartoum in a speech delivered in his rough-hewn Arabic that the Mahdi was coming with his Army of Islam marching under their black banners, but to have no fear as here he would be stopped. Faught also pointed out that the first hints that Gordon might secretly have been having sex with the boys of the Fort House were made by Lytton Strachey in his book Eminent Victorians (published 1918) which, in Faught's opinion, may have said more about Strachey than it did about Gordon. [187] When a Lebanese merchant visited Gordon in the evening, the Ansar began an artillery bombardment, leading the frightened merchant to suggest that perhaps Gordon ought to dim the lights to avoid drawing enemy fire down on the palace. [25] As the maps that delineated the Russian-Ottoman frontier were all old and inaccurate, Gordon spent much time clashing with his Russian counterparts about where precisely the frontier was and soon discovered that the Russians were very keen to have the frontier on the Danube, which Gordon had orders from London to prevent. Nancy, Please know Nancy that you and the family are in our thoughts and prayers that God would walk with you through this difficult time. [37] After its surrender, Gordon personally guaranteed that any Taiping rebel who laid down his arms would be humanely treated. It was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1890 and then erected in Brompton Barracks, Chatham, the home of the Royal School of Military Engineering, where it still stands. Husband of Daphne, much loved father and father-in-law of Bruce and Marsha, Don and . In 1878, Gordon fired the governor of Equatoria for corruption and replaced him with his former chief medical officer from his time in Equatoria, Dr. Emin Pasha, who had earned Gordon's respect. After an order is placed, our forestry partners will plant the tree in the area of greatest need (nearest the funeral home), according to the planting schedule for the year. [82] During his second trip to Romania, Gordon insisted on living with ordinary people as he travelled over the countryside, commenting that Romanian peasants "live like animals with no fuel, but reeds", and spent one night at the home of a poor Jewish craftsman whom Gordon praised for his kindness in sharing the single bedroom with his host, his wife, and their seven children. George was such a great guy. Order by noon, TUES-SAT Gordon was summoned to Cairo, and arrived in March to be appointed president of a commission. [24] Gordon did not speak Romanian, but his fluency in French allowed him to socialise with the Francophile Romanian elite, who were all fluent in French. The importance of saying "I love you" during COVID-19, Effective ways of dealing with the grieving process, Solutions to show your sympathy safely during the Covid-19 pandemic. Home Obituaries Locations Harrisburg, PA Pittsburg, PA . E-mail: GeorgeGordonsSchoolofcommonlaw@usa.net can stop at any time. Our deepest sympathies go out to cousin Nancy, and her family. [42], Gordon's task was made easier by innovative military ideas Ward had implemented in the Ever Victorious Army. Ever since the realisation of the sacrament, I have been turned upside down". Gordon loved his family, and enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren, letting them comb his beautiful white hair and catching them in the "bear trap." [221] In 1887, the Emin Pasha Relief Expedition under Henry Morton Stanley set out to rescue Dr. Emin Pasha, still holding out in Equatoria against the Ansar. [51], A furious Gordon wrote that executing POWs was "stupid", writing, "if faith had been kept, there would have been no more fighting as every town would have given in". [219] During a meeting in 1898 in Cairo where Churchill interviewed Baring to gather material for his 1899 book The River War,[250] Baring challenged Churchill about his belief that Gordon was a hero. Even more importantly, Gordon had given his word of honour that all of the Taipings who surrendered would be well-treated, and regarded the massacre as a stain on his honour. During his "career break" in the Holy Land, the very religious Gordon sought to explore his faith and biblical sites. Gordon was nostalgic for China, and knowing of the Sino-Russian crisis, he saw a chance to do something significant. [21], Following the peace, he was attached to an international commission to mark the new border between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire in Bessarabia. May the happy memories give George's family peace and comfort during this challenging time. It's a great pity!" [183], Gordon decided to stay and hold Khartoum despite the orders of the Gladstone government to merely report about the best means of supervising the evacuation of the Sudan. [172] Baring disapproved of sending Gordon to the Sudan, writing in a report to London that: "A man who habitually consults the Prophet Isaiah when he is in a difficulty is not apt to obey the orders of anyone". [12], Gordon believed in both predestinationwriting that, "I believe that not a worm is picked up by a bird without the direct intervention of God"and free will with humans choosing their own fate, writing, "I cannot and do not pretend to reconcile the two". [12], Reference is made to an 1889 account of the General surrendering his sword to a senior Mahdist officer, then being struck and subsequently speared in the side as he rolled down the staircase. [248] About the charge that if only Gladstone had listened to Gordon, the disaster would have been avoided, Cromer wrote that in the course of one month, he received five telegrams from Gordon offering his advice, each one of which completely contradicted the previous telegram, leading Cromer to charge that Gordon was too mercurial a figure to hold command. [12] However, the British public and Kitchener himself saw the expedition as one to "avenge Gordon". [104] Gordon chose not to meet Muteesa himself, instead sending his chief medical officer, a German convert to Islam, Dr. Emin Pasha, to negotiate a treaty wherein in exchange for allowing the Egyptians to leave the Buganda, the independence of the kingdom was recognised. He could only hurt a potential wife because it was inevitable that he would die in battle. Gordon never married and is not known to have had a sexual or romantic relationship with anyone. You rest easy my friend. [92] Urban wrote that most of the Westerners in Egyptian pay were "misfits" who took up Egyptian service because they were unable to get ahead in their own nations. At Cairo, he received further instructions from Sir Evelyn Baring, and was appointed Governor-General with executive powers by the Khedive Tewfik Pasha, who also gave Gordon an edict ordering him to establish a government in the Sudan. [102], Gordon, despite his position as an official in the Ottoman Empire, found the Ottoman-Egyptian system of rule inherently oppressive and cruel, coming into increasing conflict with the very system he was supposed to uphold, later stating about his time in the Sudan, "I taught the natives they had a right to exist". Gordon William Hatley 06-Dec-1960 - 23-Feb-2023 Overview Overview . As the Mahdi was long dead, Kitchener had to content himself with blowing up the Mahdi's tomb as revenge for Gordon's death. Dirk, a tall thin kindly gentleman was a Hebrew and followed the laws of both old and new testaments, observing Passover, the feast of Tabernacles and annual Holy Days on the family farm with other Hebrews. Under the Chinese system of familial responsibility, all family members of a rebel were equally guilty even if they had nothing to do with the rebellious individual's acts. [156], Additionally, Baring's policy of raising taxes to pay off the debts Isma'il had run up sparked much resentment in both Egypt and the Sudan. Order by Saturday. I also had the honour of working with George for many years and I will miss seeing his smile. May God wrap His mighty arms around each of you at this time! [100], Gordon established a close rapport with the African peoples of Equatoria such as the Nuer and Dinka, who had long suffered from the activity of Arab slave traders, and who naturally supported Gordon's efforts to stamp out the slave trade. He claimed that his army service and frequent travels to dangerous places made it impossible for him to marry. [75], Gordon, at the age of 14,[76] said that he wished he had been born a eunuch, which has been taken to suggest that he wanted to annihilate all of his sexual desires and, indeed, his sexuality altogether. Messages run for up to one year and you Sep 1938 - Feb 2023. [177] Gordon's attempt to have his former archenemy Zobeirthe "King of the Slavers" whom he had hunted for years and whose son he had executedinstalled as the new Sultan of the Sudan appalled Gladstone and offended his former admirers in the Anti-Slavery Society. Burial was on the family farm, Isabella, under Wilkinson Knob, which was his wish. Finally, after much prompting on Stead's part, Gordon opened up and attacked Gladstone's Sudan policy, coming out for an intervention to defeat the Mahdi. The Mahdi had given strict orders to his three Khalifas not to kill Gordon. [209], The Ansar began their final attack by storming the city via the gap in the defence caused by the low Nile and after an hour's fighting, the starving defenders had abandoned the fight and the city was theirs. George Brooke Ltd obituaries - view your loved ones obituary and share messages with family and friends. However, in 1953 the statue, minus a large slice of its pedestal, was reinstalled on the Victoria Embankment, in front of the newly-built Ministry of Defence main buildings. [194], It was not until August 1884 that the government decided to take steps to relieve Gordon, with the British relief force, called the Nile Expedition, or, more popularly, the Khartoum Relief Expedition or Gordon Relief Expedition (a title that Gordon strongly deprecated). "[175] Even Wolseley had cause to regret sending Gordon, as the general revealed himself to be a loose cannon whose press statements attacking the Liberal government were "obstructing rather than furthering his plans to take over the Sudan". The Mahdi contemptuously rejected Gordon's offer and sent back a letter demanding Gordon convert to Islam. So sorry and in shock! He is a glorious fellow!With his many faults, his pride, his temper, and his never-ending demand for moneybut he is a noble man, and in spite of all I have said to him or about him, I will ever think most highly of him. He thereafter received the honorific rank and title of pasha in the Ottoman aristocracy. Can hold out for years. Always giving Loved husband of Betty for 66 years. [166] The man behind the campaign was the Adjutant General, Sir Garnet Wolseleya skilled media manipulator who often leaked information to the press to effect changes in policyand who was strongly opposed to Gladstone's policy of pulling out of the Sudan. [187] Even if the relief force had reached him, it is not clear if he would have left Khartoum, as Gordon wrote in his diary: "If any emissary or letter comes up here ordering me to come down I WILL NOT OBEY IT, BUT WILL STAY HERE, AND FALL WITH THE TOWN! "[198], Among the papers captured on the Abbas was the cipher key Gordon used to code his messages in and out of Khartoum, which meant he could no longer read the messages he received, leading him to write in his diary: "I think cipher-messages are in some countries, like this, a mistake". [93], Gordon remained in the Equatoria province until October 1876. [22] As he travelled to Bessarabia, he commented in his letters home about the richness and fertility of the Romanian countryside, which produced delicious fruits and vegetables in great abundance, and the poverty of the Romanian peasants. He saw action in the Crimean War as an officer in the British Army. The French hoped that conquering the Sudan would allow them to lever the British out of Egypt, and thus restore Egypt to the French sphere of influence. "[19], Gordon took part in the expedition to Kinburn, and returned to Sevastopol at the war's end. [123], Gordon then tried another peace mission to Abyssinia. One begins to wonder whether the man had any faults at all". [165], Stead's interview caused a media sensation and led to a popular clamour for Gordon to be sent to the Sudan. whatever God wants will be). As Gordon travelled via Egypt to take the streamer back to Britain, a man who met him in Cairo described Gordon as a broken man who was "rather off his head". Gordon despite or rather, because of his war hero status disliked publicity and tried to avoid the press when he was in Britain. Ward was killed in the Battle of Cixi and his successor H. A. Burgevine, an American, was disliked by the Imperial Chinese authorities. William Gordon, minister of Glenlivet, he entered Marischal College, You will never hear from me again. [148] Gordon was promoted to major-general on 23 March 1882. In 1869, Isma'il spent 2 million Egyptian pounds (the equivalent to $300 million U.S. dollars in today's money) just on the party to celebrate the opening of the Suez Canal, in what was described as the party of the century. [152] The Spaffords had lost their home and much of their fortune in the Great Chicago Fire and then had seen one of their sons die of scarlet fever, four of their daughters drowned in a shipwreck, followed by the death of another son from scarlet fever, causing them to turn to religion as consolation for unbearable tragedy, making them very congenial company for Gordon during his stay in Jerusalem. [140] At one point during a meeting with the Council of Ministers, an enraged Gordon picked up a Chinese-English dictionary, looked up the word idiocy, and then pointed at the equivalent Chinese word with one hand while pointing at the ministers with the other. Gordon personally explored Lake Albert and the Victorian Nile, pushing on through the thick, humid jungle and steep ravines of Uganda amid heavy rains and vast hordes of insects in the summer of 1876 with an average daily temperature of 95F (35C), down to Lake Kyoga. [176], Gordon's abrupt mood swings and contradictory advice confirmed the Cabinet's view of him as mercurial and unstable. A group of European financial commissioners led by Evelyn Baring took charge of the Egyptian finances in an attempt to pay off the European banks who had lent so much money to Egypt. Earth's joys grow very dim, its glories have faded". [116] Faught wrote that Gordon's plans were "farsighted and humane", but Baring had no interest in Gordon's plans to suspend the interest payments. Scorn and reproach were cast upon us, and would we plead that it was undeserved? NEWS has reached us of the death of this veteran geologist, at the advanced age of 92. Sign the Guest Book. [174] Gordon sent a telegram to Khartoum reading: "Don't be panic-stricken. George Gordon Obituary We are sad to announce that on May 13, 2020, at the age of 51, George Gordon (Raymore, Saskatchewan) passed away. [46], In its last years, the Taiping movement had oppressed the Chinese peasantry and as the Taipings retreated in the face of fire from the Hyson, Chinese peasants emerged from their homes to cut down and hack to death the fleeing Taipings. If I cannot, I shall retire to the Equator and leave you with the indelible disgrace of abandoning the garrisons". and "Sultan!" Pallbearers will be some of Gordon's beloved nephews. [13] He attended diverse congregations, including Roman Catholic, Baptist, Presbyterian, and Methodist. Gordon". [14] Before 1870, there was no universal school system in Britain, and the Ragged Schools were a network of privately-funded schools that gave a free education to children whose parents were too poor to afford the school fees. Following the destruction of Hicks's army, the Liberal Prime Minister, William Ewart Gladstone, decided that the Sudan was not worth the trouble it would take to keep, and that the region should be abandoned to the Mahdi. [78] Faught argued that no-one at the time suspected Gordon of having sexual relations with the legions of teenage boys living with him at the Fort House. [110], He accepted their offer, believing rather naively in Leopold's and Mackinnon's assurances their plans were purely philanthropic and they had no interest in exploiting Africans for profit[111] but the Khedive Isma'il Pasha wrote to him saying that he had promised to return, and that he expected him to keep his word. George GORDON / GEORGE / HANSLOW Obituary Events Guestbook Claim Story Follow story Text size GORDON, George aka George Gordon GEORGE and George HANSLOW Born December 1935 and passed in December 2020. George Gordon of Isabella, Mo died in his wife's arms at his farm August 30 and was buried that same day in the family cemetery on the farm. May peace be with the entire Gordon Family during this sorrowful time. [114] In his worn-out state, Gordon had some sort of religious rebirth, leading him to write to his sister Augusta: "Through the workings of Christ in my body by His Body and Blood, the medicine worked. (for "Murderer of Gordon"). In December 1883, the British government ordered Egypt to abandon the Sudan, but that was difficult to carry out, as it involved the withdrawal of thousands of Egyptian soldiers, civilian employees, and their families.[161]. [34], Following the successes in the 1850s in the provinces of Guangxi, Hunan, and Hubei, and the capture of Nanjing in 1853, the rebel advance had slowed. Gordon was quite critical of the way Chinese generals fought the war, observing that the Chinese were willing to inflict and accept gargantuan losses in battle, an approach Gordon disapproved of. To send flowers "[260], Gordon also left a legacy in China and Sudan as well, two nations where he spent large parts of his career. If you are having trouble, click Save Image As and rename the file to meet the character requirement and try again. Public opinion would be satisfied with "Chinese Gordon" going to the Sudan, but at the same time, Gordon was given such a limited mandate that the evacuation would proceed as planned. Gordon made a point of treating POWs well to encourage the Taipings to surrender, and many of his men were former Taipings who chose to enlist in the Ever Victorious Army. [102], Gordon had succeeded in establishing a line of way stations from the Sobat confluence on the White Nile to the frontier of Uganda, where he proposed to open a route from Mombasa. Dirk was an avid photographer and winner of awards, and a law school instructor working right up to the time of his death. Staveley selected Gordon, who had been made a brevet major in December 1862 and the nomination was approved by the British government. [144], Gordon returned to Britain and rented a flat on 8 Victoria Grove in London. [188] The Turkish troops at Khartoum were not part of the Ottoman Army, but rather bashi-bazouks, irregulars whom Gordon commented were good for raids, but useless for battle.

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