PAULDING, OH:
Coe F. Gordon, 92, of Paulding passed away on May 14, 2024 at Paulding County Hospital. He was born June 11, 1931, the son of Coe F. Gordon, Sr. and Alma (Saum) Gordon.
He graduated from Paulding High School in 1949 where he played football and trumpet in the marching band. He attended Defiance College for 3 years, then joined the US Air Force. During his 20 years of service, he was a jet fighter pilot, then he earned his electrical engineering degree from the University of Michigan; he spent a year in Turkey listening in on Soviet communications; he was a missile silo commander at Nellis AFB in Montana, where he also completed his Master’s Degree with the Air Force Institute of Technology. During the Vietnam War he made a clandestine trip to Cambodia to bring back technology on Russian radar. He finished his career as a Lt. Colonel at Nellis AFB in Nevada working on radar systems.
After retiring from the Air Force, he taught AFJROTC for 16 years at Springboro High School. He retired from teaching in 1988, returning to Paulding in 1997. He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Patricia (Patterson) Gordon, and sons Edward Coe Gordon (Karen), Michael Bruce Gordon, and daughter Teresa Kay (William) Lane, grandchildren: Emily Lawson, Austin Gordon, Sean Gordon, Ashley Gordon, Daniel Lane and Michael Luttrell, and great grandchildren Ryan, Ruby and Theo. He was preceded in death by his parents and his sister, Joan Wythe.
He was a lifetime member of the United Methodist church, 70 year member of the Masonic Lodge and participated in many philanthropic and social organizations in his lifetime.
Funeral service will be held Saturday, May 18 at Paulding United Methodist Church. Viewing will be from 9-11 am, with service at 11 am. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Paulding County Hospital where he received excellent care.
Online condolences may be shared at www.denherderfh.com.
