Obituary of Theodore J. Gordon
Theodore (Ted) Gordon of Old Lyme, Connecticut formerly from Glastonbury, Connecticut and Vero Beach, Florida, passed away in his home on January 30th. Ted was predeceased by the love of his life of over 65 years, Ann (Jason), who died in 2020.
Ted was a role model and mentor to many and was adored by his four children: Katie Gordon (Sam Ventres) of Barrington, RI, Tom Gordon (Carol Mills) of Glastonbury, CT, Lisa Greenspan (David Greenspan) of Bala Cynwyd, PA and Michael Gordon (Constance Fox) of Croton on Hudson, NY, and his 8 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren.
Ted enjoyed ham radio (W1FAR), traveling, sailing, jazz, Broadway shows, ballet, inventing, and flying. He was an active light sport pilot well into his 90’s. Prior to this, Ted was an avid competitive glider pilot. He was a member of the United Flying Octogenarians (UFO) and the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Chapter 334 based out of Groton, CT. Ted loved to spend time in his workshop; from building models and full-size planes to building race cars with his sons.
As an active participant in a decades-long book club, Ted loved to engage in lively engaging debates.
Ted started his career at McDonnell Douglas and was rapidly promoted to launch control officer at Cape Canaveral, FL for the fledgling NASA space program. He advanced to Chief Engineer where he led a 3,000-person team that developed the Saturn launch vehicle used in the Apollo program. Ted spent many years consulting with the RAND Corporation and was a founding member of the board of directors of the Institute for Global Ethics.
In the late 60s, Ted switched careers and became a futurist specializing in forecasting methodology, planning and policy analysis. He moved his family to the East Coast to start the Institute for the Future, a think tank dealing with issues concerning the future (such as trends, policies, innovations). He later founded The Futures Group which he led as CEO for 20 years.
Most recently, Ted was the cofounder and member of the board of directors for The Millennium Project, a global participatory think tank that connects futurists around the world. He became an expert on artificial general intelligence. Ted’s legacy has been attributed with dedication to improving the human condition and building a better future for all.
Ted authored many publications and books, including First Into Outer Space (1959), Ideas in Conflict (1966), The Future (1965), dozens of research articles and holds several US patents.
A celebration of life will be held at a later date. For service information (when it becomes available) as well as online condolences, please visit www.mulryanfh.com. In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the American Cancer Society, PO Box 6704, Hagerstown, MD 21741.