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Gordon recalled as dedicated defender
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By BARNEY BEAL, Staff Writer
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Tuesday, March 12, 2002 -- Longtime public defender Samuel S.R. "Rick" Gordon was found dead in his Hadley home Monday morning, four days before he was to retire to move to Florida. He was 56.
Assistant Northwestern District Attorney David Angier said nothing of a criminal nature was suspected in Gordon's death.
Co-workers in the Hampshire County Courthouse in Northampton remembered Gordon, who often wore cowboy boots, as a unique, friendly and devoted lawyer.
"He was respected for his hard work and genuinely liked by everyone," said Angier, who argued against Gordon in several cases. "Almost unique to Rick, there was no animosity with him. He brought a sense of humor to the courtroom."
Gordon was a 15-year member of the Committee for Public Council Services and was popular within the DA's office. Many of the lawyers who opposed him in court had planned to attend his retirement party on Friday, Angier said. Instead, they will attend his funeral on Saturday.
Alan Rubin, who opened the Northampton office of the CPCS with Gordon in 1988, remembered his colleague as dedicated and unconventional.
"Whatever case he took, he really threw his heart and soul into it," Rubin said. "He would go in and win cases or motions that no one expected him to. Certain lawyers who are unconventional can have success where others might not succeed. Rick obviously had a disorganized persona, but he always knew what he was doing when it was important."
A favorite case of Gordon's involved a house break-in in 1987, Rubin said. The alleged victim said she was a witch. Gordon would tell how a pen exploded in his pocket while questioning her on the stand and how later in the trial he developed stomach cramps.
Gordon was a graduate of Longmeadow High School and the University of Massachusetts. He earned a law degree from Western New England College and began his 23-year career in 1978 in the Hampden County District Attorney's Office. He became a public defender in 1986 and moved to the Northampton office in 1988.
In an interview with the Gazette last month, Gordon said he planned to move to DeLand, Fla., with his wife Cheryl Vann-Gordon, to be near her family. Gordon said he hoped to pursue teaching opportunities and perhaps take on a few cases.
"I'm going to really miss this whole place," Gordon had said. "The atmosphere I don't think can be beat in terms of the people. Everybody is so helpful and cheerful. Hampshire and Franklin counties are really a unique place. You don't find these kind of relationships anywhere else."
Gordon's position in the CPCS office will remain unfilled until the state budget is worked out, leaving the office with three lawyers sharing two full-time positions, Rubin said. Mimi Brill and David Rountree, a married couple, share a full-time position.
"We were planning some things, but we weren't planing for this," Rubin said. "I really liked working with him. I was just getting used to the idea of losing him to retirement."
Gordon had planned to come in over the weekend and tie up some loose ends, Rubin said. With a week left before retirement, he had to close out his few remaining cases. Those will be postponed and given to Rubin, Rountree and Brill.
Besides his wife, Gordon leaves a stepson, Sean Bryan of New Hampshire; a stepdaughter, Courtney Bryan of Virginia Beach, Va.; a sister, Barbara Gordon of Longmeadow; and four grandchildren.
A memorial service is planned for 10 a.m. Saturday at Drozdal Funeral Home in Northampton.
Ian
"I have taken more out of alcohol than alcohol has taken out of me."
- Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)
