Thomas Harold Gordon II
Thomas Harold Gordon II
Shellsburg
Thomas Harold Gordon II, 64, of Shellsburg, Iowa, passed away on Friday, Sept. 30, 2022.Visitation will be held on Saturday, Oct. 8, 2022, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Cedar Memorial Park Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held on Sunday, Oct. 9, 2022, at Noon at Cedar Memorial Chapel of Memories. A final burial service will be held at Oakwood Cemetery in Adrian, Michigan at a later date.
Thomas was born on Nov. 23, 1957, in Arlington, Va., to Thomas and Mary (Varner) Gordon. He was raised in Adrian, Mich., with his brothers Mike and Jeff and sister Sandy, where he swam for and graduated Adrian High School in 1976. That same year he enlisted in the U.S. Navy and into their Nuclear Power School where he went on to serve aboard the Submarine USS Pintado. He sailed the Pacific and Arctic oceans, and took part in the Navy’s 13th Submarine mission to the North Pole.
He moved to Cedar Rapids, Iowa, in 1984 to start a family, and work at the Duane Arnold Nuclear plant, eventually working his way up to Shift Manager and Senior Reactor Operator. During his illustrious career he wrote and established industry-wide safety standards, trained hundreds of other operators, and set national performance records. He retired in 2020.
Tom was an avid HAM radio operator, having connected with other people around the world, and above it, communicating from his basement to NASA space stations and shuttle missions. He loved Michigan football, Star Trek, NASCAR, snowmobiling with his brothers and sons, boating, hunting, sci-fi novels, motorcycle riding, camping, star gazing, WWII history, traveling, and many other adventures and hobbies.
More than anything he loved his family. The support, love, generosity, wisdom, and fond memories he created is what made him the greatest man we will ever know. He will be dearly missed but he leaves a legacy behind that we will always remember.
He is survived by his three sons and their wives,: Kris (Marisa), Andrew (Tiffany) and Nicholas (Courtney); his six grandchildren, Brody, Isabella, Renley, Athena, Francesca and Nicholas II, all of Cedar Rapids; his brothers, Mike and Jeff; sister, Sandy; and his mother, Mary (Michigan). He was preceded in death by his father, Thomas.