Gordon Godfrey Warner passed away on April 11, 2022, at the age of 84 due to complications from Parkinson’s and will be deeply missed. He is survived by his wife Virginia and three children; Charles, Wayne, and Suzanne, his brother David, his grandchildren; Ryan and Derek, and great-granddaughter Mae with another great-grandson on the way.
Gordon was born in Muskegon on December 2, 1937, where he grew up and met Virginia Buitendorp in High School. They married in 1958 and celebrated 63 years together in 2021.
He was always known to have a passion for education, progression, and self-improvement. He completed his first two collegiate degrees at Michigan Technological University with a master’s thesis on Fluid Dynamics of Liquid Fueled Rockets. He went on to gain the first Doctoral degree in his family with a PhD from Michigan State University. His doctoral thesis led the Warner family to Alaska, where he studied the Surface Strain Rate of Glaciers.
His career led him to become a Professor at General Motors Institute of Technology (now Kettering University), and finally on to General Motors where he had several accomplishments. Gordon was proud of his contribution to the first fiberglass composite Leaf Spring for the 1984 Corvette, which went on to win the motor trend car of the year. He also contributed to the brake design of GM’s EV1, the first modern electric car, one of which resides at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, MI.
Gordon also had strong values of service and giving back to the community. He volunteered at Goodrich Ambulance Service where he was a first responder and dispatcher, and later with the Over-The-Hill Gang in Colorado as Ski Patrol and finally with Georgetown’s Citizens on Patrol community watch group. His faith was very important to him, and Gordon was a regular at his church and Men’s group throughout his life and retirement at Rocky Mountain Bible Church in Frisco, CO, Grace Bible Church of Georgetown, TX, and finally Good News Church of Leesburg, FL.
In his free time, Gordon was active with family, famously visiting Alaska in a motorhome with his family for his doctoral work, spending his time water skiing, biking, boating, sailing and teaching his grandchildren how to snow ski in Colorado.
In 1997 Virginia and Gordon began their retirement in Colorado, then on to Sun City Georgetown Texas, and finally to The Villages of Florida. He enjoyed spending time bike riding and took several biking trips which brought them to Iowa, Europe, and eventually to the Netherlands to visit Virginia’s family roots.
Gordon leaves a legacy of hard work, and his family and friends will miss his intuition, skill, and tenacity that he always carried with him.
Memorial arrangements will be held at Freedom Pointe, The Villages FL at a later date. Contributions in Lieu of Flowers can be sent to the Michael J. Fox Foundation and Good News Church, Leesburg, Florida.
