Martha Gordon
Martha Gordon passed into the presence of her loving Savior on January 6, 2018, just two days before her 77th birthday, at Overlake Hospital in Bellevue, Washington, due to complications of cancer treatment. She was surrounded by loving family and passed peacefully with full assurance of her heavenly home.
Martha was born January 8, 1941 in Los Angeles to Gene and Jane Seibert Fowler (later Boyd). She is preceded in death by her parents, and also her step parents Marjorie Fowler and Carlton Boyd. She is survived by her husband John, daughters Susan Allen and Jayne Bell, and her grandchildren Alexander Bell and Alanah Bell.
Martha lived the first half of her life in the southern California area, attending Hollywood High School. Her first love was nursing and she graduated from nurses’ training as a Registered Nurse, working in several capacities at both St. Joseph’s hospital in Burbank and Valley Presbyterian in Van Nuys. Her first marriage was to John Warme, producing daughters Susan and Jayne. In 1967, she met and married John Gordon, a dashing Marine, while working at Saint Joseph’s and they celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in December 2017, just before her final illness.
In the mid-70’s, Martha and John moved the family to Washington State, where Martha worked 26 years at Overlake Hospital, most of those years as the night shift charge nurse in Labor and Delivery. She was intelligent and capable, creative and talented, and incredibly hard-working. Her generous, caring and supportive nature will be missed by all who knew her.
Martha, like her mother Jane, was remarkably talented and gifted in creating works of beauty. She will be remembered for her many and varied craft projects, having completed hundreds of beautiful cross stitches, many quilts, and countless knitting, crocheting, and sewing projects. She built at least 7 large multi-storied, fully furnished dollhouses, complete with carpet and wallpaper, and one even had electrical wiring. She loved family celebrations and her wrapped gifts were works of art. She set beautiful tables and made every occasion festive and beautiful. Her home Christmas decorations were awe-inspiring.
Martha loved animals and at various times tended a large menagerie of yard pets which included peacocks, ducks, chickens, turkeys, geese and goats, along with the more typical caged birds, dogs, and cats. And in midlife, Martha discovered a love of scuba diving, even in the frigid Puget Sound, logging over sixty dives with daughter Sue over a 10 year period.
In her later life, Martha found a strong faith in Christ, and a loving church home as a member of Trinity Reformed Baptist Church in Kirkland, Washington. She also loved to attend Precepts Bible Studies at Crossroads Bible Church, and she lived her final years of failing health and increasing pain with grace and thankfulness. She faced her cancer diagnosis with an optimistic fighting spirit and at the same time faith in God’s ultimate plan for her.
Her Memorial service will be held at Crossroads Bible Church, 15815 SE 37th Street, Bellevue, WA 98006 on January 20th at 2 PM, followed by a reception.