[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17212]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                  IN REMEMBRANCE OF CHESTER E. GORDON

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, December 17, 2012

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise to remember Chester E. Gordon, a 
resident of Lakewood, Ohio, for the last 50 years and a constituent of 
Ohio's 10th Congressional District. Chester, who was 81, died on 
September 15, 2012.
  Chester Gordon was an attorney, scholar, soldier, and citizen. A 1948 
graduate of Cleveland Heights High School, a 1952 graduate of Harvard 
College, and an alumnus of the 1955 class of Western Reserve (now Case 
Western Reserve University) School of Law, Chester started practicing 
law in 1956. He assumed the practice of his uncle, Harry Hemple, in 
Lakewood in 1963. He served in the U.S. Army on active duty in 
Washington, DC as an attorney from 1956 through 1958, and then 
practiced as a reserve officer until receiving his honorable discharge 
in 1963.
  Chester was a lifelong Democrat and political enthusiast. He met his 
wife Stephanie, who shared his enthusiasm, on the presidential campaign 
trail of John F. Kennedy. They married soon after Kennedy's victory. 
They worked on and supported many candidates for political office. 
Their children learned politics alongside their parents. Their daughter 
Merle, whose first baby-steps were on door-to-door political campaigns 
with Chester and Stephanie, went on to serve several terms as a 
Cleveland city councilwoman representing Cleveland's Old Brooklyn and 
Brooklyn Centre neighborhoods in the 10th Congressional District. I am 
proud to be among the candidates for office for whom the Gordons 
campaigned.
  Chester was a man of diverse interests. He was a long-time member and 
past president of Beth Israel the West Temple in Cleveland and a member 
of Beth El--The Heights Synagogue in Cleveland Heights. He was a 
subscriber and supporter of the Cleveland Orchestra for over 60 years. 
A wood turner, Chester was a member of the North Coast Woodturners. A 
loyal member of the City Club of Cleveland, Chester could usually be 
found at its Friday Forums each week. On Saturdays, Chester was a 
faithful shopper at Cleveland's West Side Market with his son David. 
Chester was also active in his alumni associations, was a long-serving 
member of the Harvard Scholarship Committee, and attended his 60th 
Harvard College reunion this summer.
  In addition to Merle, David, and Stephanie, his wife of 51 years, 
Chester is survived by his son Abram and daughter-in-law Bess and their 
daughters Annie and LuLu of Cincinnati; daughter Rachel and son-in-law 
Joseph of Israel; son Derek and daughter-in-law Jen and their children 
Sam, Henry, and Sophie of Tuscon, Arizona; and sister Sue Wintner of 
Pepper Pike, Ohio. Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in 
remembering Chester Gordon and joining with his family and many friends 
who are mourning his loss.

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