In 2011, Gordon was named America's "Outstanding Oldest Worker" by Experience Works, a nonprofit organization which helps mature workers find jobs and new careers. In 2006, she was named Outstanding Older Worker for Nebraska. Elegant in both dress and manner, with a signature hat or scarf always adorning her silver hair, Gordon was a former model known for her flair and her active lifestyle. When she was 92, Sally toured Europe, alone, because it was something she had always wanted to do. Some of Sally's favorite sayings included these: "Life goes by at such an amazing pace, perhaps that's why they call it the human race" and "I try to live every moment." She also favored "God didn't give us a rewind button." Sally is dear to many because of her friendly smile, kindness, interest in people, her wonderful sense of humor, and her vigorous approach to life. She lived in her home until last month. Sally was a good friend, a role model and an inspiration to many.
Sally is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, James E. "Jim" Gordon and Karen Kilgarin, Lincoln; her daughter, Janet Rudolph of Tacoma, Wash.; her daughter and son-in-law, Sandra and Dalton Shapo, Turnersville, N.J.; granddaughters and spouses: Micala R. Gordon, Minneapolis; Shannon L. Gordon, Florence, Italy; Celeste M. Torrence, Lincoln; Jacquie and Brett Rauenzahn, Lovettsville, Va.; Danielle and Mark Jannusch, Marion, Iowa; Alexey and Doug Root, Denton, Texas; Sarah and Douglas Cole, Upper Arlington, Ohio; Rebecca Rudolph, Seattle; great grandchildren: Clarissa, William, Samuel, Joshua, Hannah, Alexander; niece, Sandy Goralnik, Denver. Special friends: Connie Miller, Cindy Swinney, Laurie Smith Camp, Jim Joyce, and many other relatives and friends. Preceded in death by her oldest daughter, Constance Ellen "Connie" Gordon, who passed away in November 2005.
Services will be held at Congregation Tifereth Israel, 3219 Sheridan Boulevard, Lincoln on Wednesday, February 15, 2012, at 12:15 p.m. Interment will be at Mt. Carmel Cemetery, located near North 14th and Elba Streets. A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Sally requested that memorials be directed to the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Nebraska or the Lincoln Community Foundation's Sally Gordon Endowed Scholarship Fund for Outstanding Legislative Pages.
Wyuka Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.∼LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska woman once honored for being one of the nation's oldest working Americans died Tuesday, less than a year after she left her job in the Legislature and a career that included politicians, movie stars and profound moments in state history.
Family members said Sally Gordon died shortly after midnight at a Lincoln hospital, where she was staying after she fell in her home a few weeks ago. She was 102.
Gordon left her job last year as assistant sergeant-at-arms at the Nebraska Legislature, where she had worked since 1984, starting at age 75.
Every day that weather allowed, she walked seven blocks to the Capitol from her Lincoln home. She was honored as America's Outstanding Oldest Worker for 2010, given by Experience Works, the nation's largest nonprofit training center for older workers.
"Sally was a great Nebraskan, and we will miss her," said Gov. Dave Heineman.
Her resume included stints as a court reporter, a model, an employee at an engraving company and a secretary to three Nebraska governors. She hobnobbed with Shirley MacLaine and Gene Kelly, and once chatted with Lyndon B. Johnson on the steps of Air Force One. To regulars at the Nebraska State Capitol, she was the warm and welcoming presence who shuttled notes to lawmakers and helped prepare for legislative floor debate each morning.
"She never really stopped, never really slowed down," her son, Jim Gordon, said. "To us kids, she was a mom first and a working woman second. She was a role model without intending to be a role model. She did the things she wanted to do, and she did them well."
Sally Gordon was behind her desk one day 50 years ago, when a young man with a Boston accent walked into then-Gov. Ralph Brooks' office. Robert F. Kennedy asked Gordon why she was working on a Saturday.
Her response?
"I need to get the job done."
Gordon was born on March 26, 1909, in Chicago. She grew up in Fort Collins, Colo., and learned the value of hard work from her parents. Her father held a variety of jobs to keep the family afloat and when Gordon got married, she and her husband did the same while raising four children.
When she was young and pregnant with her first child, she worked full time for Colorado State University until the day she gave birth. But, Gordon once said, her bosses thought it was inappropriate for a pregnant woman to be seen in the workplace. So she worked at a desk and typewriter they brought to her house.
Gordon liked to knit and garden, and she watched almost no TV. One of her favorite, self-coined phrases: "Life goes by at an amazing pace. Perhaps that's why it's called the human race."
Gordon's husband died in 1969. She had four children, including a daughter who died in 2006; seven grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
On her 100th birthday, Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler gave her a medallion and named the day in her honor. She received a letter from President Barack Obama. A group of lobbyists recorded a CD with songs such as "Red Coat Sally," a reference to the red coats worn by sergeants-at-arms at the Capitol.
Gordon was honored as America's Outstanding Oldest Worker for 2010. She beat women from across the country for the award given by Experience Works, the nation's largest nonprofit training center for older workers. A 104-year-old man who runs a game-machine business in Puerto Rico won the equivalent award for male workers earlier this month.
Gordon accepted her award at the Nebraska Capitol, which hadn't been built when she was born in 1909.
"I used to be a model," Gordon told a crowd at the time. "Now I feel like a model T."
Routinely one of the best-dressed people in the Capitol, her personality matched the flowing scarves and dresses she favors.
With a light touch on the shoulder, she stopped high-powered politicians, lobbyists and staffers in the Capitol hallways to dispense compliments and ask about their families and other personal matters. Hugs and smiles often followed.
© 2012 The Associated Press
In 2011, Gordon was named America's "Outstanding Oldest Worker" by Experience Works, a nonprofit organization which helps mature workers find jobs and new careers. In 2006, she was named Outstanding Older Worker for Nebraska. Elegant in both dress and manner, with a signature hat or scarf always adorning her silver hair, Gordon was a former model known for her flair and her active lifestyle. When she was 92, Sally toured Europe, alone, because it was something she had always wanted to do. Some of Sally's favorite sayings included these: "Life goes by at such an amazing pace, perhaps that's why they call it the human race" and "I try to live every moment." She also favored "God didn't give us a rewind button." Sally is dear to many because of her friendly smile, kindness, interest in people, her wonderful sense of humor, and her vigorous approach to life. She lived in her home until last month. Sally was a good friend, a role model and an inspiration to many.
Sally is survived by her son and daughter-in-law, James E. "Jim" Gordon and Karen Kilgarin, Lincoln; her daughter, Janet Rudolph of Tacoma, Wash.; her daughter and son-in-law, Sandra and Dalton Shapo, Turnersville, N.J.; granddaughters and spouses: Micala R. Gordon, Minneapolis; Shannon L. Gordon, Florence, Italy; Celeste M. Torrence, Lincoln; Jacquie and Brett Rauenzahn, Lovettsville, Va.; Danielle and Mark Jannusch, Marion, Iowa; Alexey and Doug Root, Denton, Texas; Sarah and Douglas Cole, Upper Arlington, Ohio; Rebecca Rudolph, Seattle; great grandchildren: Clarissa, William, Samuel, Joshua, Hannah, Alexander; niece, Sandy Goralnik, Denver. Special friends: Connie Miller, Cindy Swinney, Laurie Smith Camp, Jim Joyce, and many other relatives and friends. Preceded in death by her oldest daughter, Constance Ellen "Connie" Gordon, who passed away in November 2005.
Services will be held at Congregation Tifereth Israel, 3219 Sheridan Boulevard, Lincoln on Wednesday, February 15, 2012, at 12:15 p.m. Interment will be at Mt. Carmel Cemetery, located near North 14th and Elba Streets. A celebration of life will be held at a later date. Sally requested that memorials be directed to the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Nebraska or the Lincoln Community Foundation's Sally Gordon Endowed Scholarship Fund for Outstanding Legislative Pages.
Wyuka Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements.∼LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — A Nebraska woman once honored for being one of the nation's oldest working Americans died Tuesday, less than a year after she left her job in the Legislature and a career that included politicians, movie stars and profound moments in state history.
Family members said Sally Gordon died shortly after midnight at a Lincoln hospital, where she was staying after she fell in her home a few weeks ago. She was 102.
Gordon left her job last year as assistant sergeant-at-arms at the Nebraska Legislature, where she had worked since 1984, starting at age 75.
Every day that weather allowed, she walked seven blocks to the Capitol from her Lincoln home. She was honored as America's Outstanding Oldest Worker for 2010, given by Experience Works, the nation's largest nonprofit training center for older workers.
"Sally was a great Nebraskan, and we will miss her," said Gov. Dave Heineman.
Her resume included stints as a court reporter, a model, an employee at an engraving company and a secretary to three Nebraska governors. She hobnobbed with Shirley MacLaine and Gene Kelly, and once chatted with Lyndon B. Johnson on the steps of Air Force One. To regulars at the Nebraska State Capitol, she was the warm and welcoming presence who shuttled notes to lawmakers and helped prepare for legislative floor debate each morning.
"She never really stopped, never really slowed down," her son, Jim Gordon, said. "To us kids, she was a mom first and a working woman second. She was a role model without intending to be a role model. She did the things she wanted to do, and she did them well."
Sally Gordon was behind her desk one day 50 years ago, when a young man with a Boston accent walked into then-Gov. Ralph Brooks' office. Robert F. Kennedy asked Gordon why she was working on a Saturday.
Her response?
"I need to get the job done."
Gordon was born on March 26, 1909, in Chicago. She grew up in Fort Collins, Colo., and learned the value of hard work from her parents. Her father held a variety of jobs to keep the family afloat and when Gordon got married, she and her husband did the same while raising four children.
When she was young and pregnant with her first child, she worked full time for Colorado State University until the day she gave birth. But, Gordon once said, her bosses thought it was inappropriate for a pregnant woman to be seen in the workplace. So she worked at a desk and typewriter they brought to her house.
Gordon liked to knit and garden, and she watched almost no TV. One of her favorite, self-coined phrases: "Life goes by at an amazing pace. Perhaps that's why it's called the human race."
Gordon's husband died in 1969. She had four children, including a daughter who died in 2006; seven grandchildren; and six great-grandchildren.
On her 100th birthday, Lincoln Mayor Chris Beutler gave her a medallion and named the day in her honor. She received a letter from President Barack Obama. A group of lobbyists recorded a CD with songs such as "Red Coat Sally," a reference to the red coats worn by sergeants-at-arms at the Capitol.
Gordon was honored as America's Outstanding Oldest Worker for 2010. She beat women from across the country for the award given by Experience Works, the nation's largest nonprofit training center for older workers. A 104-year-old man who runs a game-machine business in Puerto Rico won the equivalent award for male workers earlier this month.
Gordon accepted her award at the Nebraska Capitol, which hadn't been built when she was born in 1909.
"I used to be a model," Gordon told a crowd at the time. "Now I feel like a model T."
Routinely one of the best-dressed people in the Capitol, her personality matched the flowing scarves and dresses she favors.
With a light touch on the shoulder, she stopped high-powered politicians, lobbyists and staffers in the Capitol hallways to dispense compliments and ask about their families and other personal matters. Hugs and smiles often followed.
© 2012 The Associated Press
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