Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
GORDON, Gene
GORDON, Gene. (Sioux City, IA, Feb. 17, 1930--Dubuque, IA, Oct. 27, 2020) Gene was the son William James Gordon and Mary Cleonice French. He graduated from DUBUQUE SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL in 1947, attended the UNIVERSITY OF DUBUQUE, and graduated from Iowa State University with a double major in Architectural Engineering and Architecture. He was a member of Tau Beta Pi – the engineering honor society.
He married Virginia Cunningham on December 19, 1952 and then served in the United States Air Force during the KOREAN CONFLICT. After his service, he worked for architectural firms in Minneapolis before returning to Dubuque where he worked for DURRANT & BERGQUIST beginning in 1961. The partnership was renamed Durrant Deininger Dommer Kramer Gordon 1963.
He was a man who made things: totem poles, ski hills, geodesic domes, paper airplanes, models, and wooden sculptures. Many of the buildings he designed earned architectural awards. STEPHEN HEMPSTEAD HIGH SCHOOL the DUBUQUE MUSEUM OF ART are well known locally. In partnership with friends he developed SUNDOWN MOUNTAIN which opened in 1972.
He was a member of DUBUQUE GOLF AND COUNTRY CLUB. He served the community with the Y’s Men’s Club, a 50+ year member of the Rotary club, and served as president of each organization. He served over 30 years on the board of BETHANY HOME and was an elder and trustee of the WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.