Gordon Ralph Firth

GORDON RALPH FIRTH Gordon Ralph Firth was born August 24, 1922, in Rochester, New York, and passed away peacefully on December 3, 2014. The family moved to Toronto, Ontario, Canada, when he was in elementary school. He attended Parkdale Collegiate High School. He was in the US Army, Counter Intelligence Corps, and spent time in Germany at the end of WWII. He met his wife, Arlene (deceased 1994), at Church of the Epiphany in Toronto. They were married in 1948. Gordon was employed by the US Embassy, and was transferred to Munich Germany. During his career in the US Department of State, he lived in Germany, Egypt, the Philippines, England and Jamaica. He especially enjoyed telling people that each of his children were born in a foreign country. He spent his last few years in Washington, DC and retired in 1974 in Falls Church, Virginia. He enjoyed his retirement, learning to make jewelry, cutting and polishing rocks and gems, collecting and repairing clocks, playing poker and dining out. He enjoyed traveling to visit family and friends. They were longtime members of St. Dunstan's Episcopal Church in McLean Virginia. They moved to Florida in 2004 where Gordon was a member of Glory of God Anglican Church, Cocoa. He is survived by his five children: Peter, Jamie Pritchett, Laurie Albert (Dave), John (Beth) and Linda Riddell (Rich), twelve grandchildren of whom he was very proud: Meredith Pritchett, Lindsay Mattingly, Kevin Albert, Corie Albert, Danielle Albert, Sarah Firth, Rebecca Firth, Michael Firth, Eric Riddell, Stephen Riddell, Luke Riddell, and Daniel Riddell. Gordon was a kind and friendly gentleman. He always made people feel comfortable and was fun to be around. He was a loving and caring husband and father. He supported many charities and was always sympathetic to people in need. He will be greatly missed. A memorial service will be held on Wednesday, December 10, 2014, at 11:00 am, at Glory of God Anglican Church, 3735 N. Indian River Drive, Cocoa, FL 32926 In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Glory of God Food Ministry.