Gordon was born in Newcastle-Under-Lyme, England to Eric & Jessie Green on May 25th, 1936. He died peacefully at his home in Seattle after a five year battle with multiple myeloma. He leaves behind Gabrielle, his wife of 41 years , son Andrew (wife Patti) & grandchildren Chris, Quinten, Kayla & Zackery.
A well known and highly respected geotechnical engineer, Gordon obtained a 1st class honours degree in Civil Engineering (King’s College, Durham). Gordon was awarded a 2 year Fulbright scholarship in the USA where at Northwestern University he obtained an MS in Soil Mechanics in 1962. He completed his stay by working briefly for Shannon & Wilson in Seattle, then resuming his studies in England at Imperial College, London. By the time Gordon obtained a PhD in Soil Mechanics in 1969 he held the position of Lecturer in Soil Mechanics until his departure from Imperial College in 1974. Additionally, during this period Gordon served as a consultant to several European firms including Soil Instruments, the leading British manufacturer of geotechnical field instrumentation, the design & installation of which became Gordon’s specialty.
Shortly after meeting & marrying Gabrielle in 1972, the Green family decided to emigrate and in 1974 settled in Seattle. Gordon rejoined Shannon & Wilson as a senior associate & later principal engineer from 1974 – 1987, where upon he joined Golder Associates. In 1988 Gordon became an independent Geotechnical Engineering & Instrumentation Consultant working in this capacity until ~ 2011.
As a teenager, Gordon was an avid biker; then hiking & rock climbing became his passion especially the Alps where he scaled Mont Blanc & the Matterhorn mountains. Walking the entire English Pennine Way was another achievement. This love never waned & in later years Gordon & Gabrielle spent many summer vacations in the Alps or walking segments of the 600+ miles of the English Southwest Coastal Path with sadly about 300 miles to go.
Gordon loved his home where he had a well equipped & organized workshop for house or car repairs & his woodworking hobby. No dripping taps in this house! After retirement as his disease progressed, Gordon regularly tackled Sudoku & cross word puzzles in the Seattle Times over a lengthy breakfast. Cycling racing, especially The Tour de France on TV was a not-to-be-missed event. Gordon eagerly awaited the 2014 Tour which starts in Yorkshire on July 5th; I’m sure he’ll be watching it in spirit.
A celebration of Gordon’s very full life will be held at his home on Sunday July 20th from 2 – 5 PM. The family invites his many friends & colleagues to stop by during this time and share their memories of him. For address details contact Gabrielle .
In lieu of flowers, donation in Gordon’s name can be made to Washington National Parks Fund (WNPF) a nonprofit that helps support our local underfunded national parks www.wnpf.org or to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation www.themmrf.org .
Please share your memories of Gordon here.
Gabrielle & family