[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 13 (Tuesday, January 24, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E89]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 TRIBUTE TO DR. RAYMOND GORDON KLOCKOW

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TODD ROKITA

                               of indiana

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 24, 2017

  Mr. ROKITA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a great Hoosier and my 
dear friend, Dr. Raymond Gordon Klockow who passed away January 13, 
2017. Not only was he a constituent in my district, but he was also a 
good friend to our family and to our office. Most recently, he served 
as our county coordinator in Jasper County.
  Gordon was born in South Bend, Indiana and graduated from South Bend 
Central High School in 1965. He then attended Purdue University and 
received a Bachelor of Science in 1970, graduated from the Loyola 
University School of Dentistry in 1974 with a Doctor of Dental Surgery, 
and completed his General Practice Residency at Berkshire Medical 
Center in 1975. That same year he moved to Rensselaer, Indiana and 
began practicing dentistry at the Clinic of Family Medicine.
  Gordon took a lot of pride in his work. He practiced general 
dentistry in Rensselaer at the Clinic of Family Medicine from 1975-
1983, Hillcrest Family Dental Center, P.C. from 1983-2011, and Sheets 
Medical Practice from 2014-2015. It was at his dental office where I 
first met Gordon. It seemed we talked for hours about my family's 
profession, dentistry. And of course we talked politics in that first 
meeting, and every conversation since. But talk from him of politics 
and American Exceptionalism in every conversation is not surprising to 
all who knew Gordon. He put a lot of care and dedication to the smiles 
of so many Hoosiers during the course of his career. Gordon himself was 
rarely ever seen without a smile on his face and it was infectious to 
those around him.
  One of the many things I admired about Gordon was his servant's 
heart. He served as the Jasper County Coroner, a Jasper County Deputy 
Coroner, and a Newton County Deputy Coroner. He was board certified in 
Pain Management, Forensic Medicine, Forensic Dentistry, and as a 
Forensic Examiner. Gordon was also currently a managing partner of Ritz 
Cinema in Rensselaer where he took great pride in the service he 
provided for the community.
  Some of my most vivid memories of Gordon were at the town hall 
meetings we have in our district. I frequently asked him to help us 
with the meetings, sometimes as a host and other times as a participant 
in the reading of the Constitution. He was the perfect leader, in body 
and temperament, to do so. Gordon was the type of individual who always 
asked what he could do to help and would go above and beyond for anyone 
who needed him.
  Gordon leaves Nancy, his beloved wife for over 27 years, three 
children, and seven grandchildren to carry on his legacy of service to 
fellow Hoosiers. Anyone who knew him well knows what a great loss his 
passing is for the community. Mr. Speaker, we lost a good one last 
week. He will be missed. Rest in peace Gordon, you will not be 
forgotten.

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