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Gordon C. Facer ’41

Gordon attended Reed for two years, later describing his break from the school in this way: “Until June 1939, I was well on my way toward becoming a physics major under Prof. Tony Knowlton [A.A., 1915–48]. Then suddenly my fortunes took a different turn when I departed Reed for a career in the navy. By July 1942, I was a married navy ensign, joining an ancient World War I four-stack destroyer that could have been right out of Caine Mutiny . . .” Gordon earned a BS from the U.S. Naval Academy, and following the war, was a naval aviator. He went to UC Berkeley, where he completed an MS in radiology. In 1969, he retired from the navy and spent an additional 14 years as a civilian employee in nuclear radiation safety for the Atomic Energy Commission. In retirement he did consulting in the field. “Being a former Reed student has always been an advantage to me, even though I’ve been away all these years,” he wrote. “I like to think that my Reed heritage has helped me to become a fairly laid-back person, unbothered by most of the silliness that is Washington. Even so, I am far from placid, for I have strong views on our government and country and disagree with majority views on almost anything.” Gordon and his wife, Maryann, had two daughters and a son. His brother, Fred Facer ’36, graduated from Reed.

Appeared in Reed magazine: December 2015

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