Susanna (Susie) Poythress Bland Gordon, beloved mother and grandmother, aged 88, peacefully passed away in the early hours of Christmas Day, 2023, at Watermark by the Bay in Emeryville, California.

She was born on March 12, 1935 in Brooklyn, New York, to parents Charles Eugene Waldner and Susanna Poythress Bland Waldner (née Collier). As a child, she lived in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York with her parents, her older brother Charles Jr (Charlie), and her younger brother Robert.

After her mother became ill, she lived with another Jackson Heights couple whom she had befriended as a little girl, John (Jack) McKim Minton Jr. and Alice Carson Minton. During the summers she went to camp on Lake Winnipesaukee, where she eventually was employed as a lifeguard and taught swimming and canoe lessons.

In Jackson Heights, she attended the Garden School, graduating valedictorian of her class. Inspired by the Mintons, who were both lawyers, she went on to study Political Science at Vassar College in 1953. After completing her degree in 1957, she decided to take a more technical turn and worked as an early computer programmer for Bell Telephone Laboratories in Murray Hill, New Jersey. It was there that she met her future husband, James (Jim) Power Gordon, a physicist and group leader at Bell Labs.

Susie and Jim were married in St. James Protestant Episcopal Church, New York, NY, on March 26, 1960, and their union was announced the following day with a short article in the New York Times, including a radiant picture of Susie. They lived happily together in Chatham, New Jersey until 1968, and then in Rumson, New Jersey until Jim's passing in 2013. Susie later moved to Watermark by the Bay in Emeryville, California in 2017.

During her years in Rumson, Susie devoted her time to volunteering for various charitable organizations, including FISH (For I Shall Help), which provided rides to appointments for those in need, and HABcore, an organization dedicated to providing housing for the homeless. At HABcore, Susie was a Trustee and Officer for many years, including a period as Chair of Fund Development, and was recently inducted into membership of the HABcore Honorary Board.

One of Susie's points of pride was her rich heritage as a direct descendant of Pocahontas, with a lineage that included three generations of women named Susanna Poythress Bland before her. A portrait of the first – Susanna Poythress who married Richard Bland in 1787 – remains a cherished family heirloom.

Susie was predeceased by her loving husband and her two brothers. She will be lovingly remembered by her son, James P. Gordon Jr.; her two daughters, Sara B. Gordon and Susanna P. B. Gordon; and her four grandchildren, Alex and Luke Gordon, and Jeremy and Rebecca Rotenberg.

A small memorial service will be held at 1:00pm on April 27th, 2024, at St George's by the River in Rumson, NJ, followed by a reception.

St George's by the River (map)
7 Lincoln Avenue
Rumson, NJ 07760

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to HABcore at habcore.org/about in memory of Susie Gordon.