Gordon, 80, died October 15, 2006, in Conrad, Montana, from complication of diabetes. He was born on the family farm near Fairmount, North Dakota, January 28, 1926. He completed a year of college at North Dakota State School of Science in Wahpeton, North Dakota, before enlisting in the US Army on June 23, 1944. He was assigned to the 394th Field Artillery Battalion which provided replacement troops for combat soldiers in Europe. He received an Honorable Discharge in 1946 and enrolled in the School of Forestry at the University of Montana. He signed on with the smokejumpers for the 1947 season.

Gordon married in the fall of 1947 and he and his wife established as successful dryland grain farm 25 miles east of Conrad, farming there for 47 years before retiring. During his career he served on boards of many cooperatives and traveled to China with one of the first private US delegations. Gordon also served a term on the Montana Chamber of Commerce board. He is buried in the Hillside Cemetery at Conrad, Montana.