Longtime 3V resident, activist, teacher Gordon passes away at 79
By Lee Lutz
July 16, 2008 | 03:35 PM Longtime Three Village resident, teacher, political activist and painter Edith Gordon passed away last week in San Diego, Calif. Born Edith Oppenheimer on Feb. 4, 1929, in Springfield, Ill., she moved with her family to Germany in 1933, according to Barry Gordon, her husband of almost 50 years. Family in Europe included third cousin Anne Frank and her father, Otto Frank, who later published the famous diary by his daughter. "She played with Anne Frank," Barry Gordon said, adding that Edith stayed close with Otto Frank after World War II. "In 1933," said Barry Gordon, Edith's father "read 'Mein Kampf' by Adolf Hitler and, recognizing the danger, quickly returned to the United States." The family settled in New Jersey where Edith was raised. Edith, stricken with polio in high school, was told "you'll never be able to teach," her goal since childhood, said Karen Rowley of Brookhaven, Edith's friend since the 1950s. Rowley first met Edith while teaching in the next classroom in Fairlawn, N.J. "She was in an iron lung" and paralyzed, said Barry Gordon. But, he said, a private treatment "probably did it," causing Edith to recover her health and most of her mobility. Edith Oppenheimer attended Douglas College, then the women's affiliate of Rutgers University. She earned a master's degree in education from Bank Street College of Education in New York City. The Gordons met in New York in 1957 and married in December 1958. The couple moved to Setauket in 1961 where Edith taught in the Nassakeag and Mount elementary schools from 1968 to 1988. "She was my fifth-grade teacher at Mount Elementary," said Kara Hahn of Setauket, long involved in local civic activities — many with her former teacher. Hahn provided a copy of The Statesman, Stony Brook University's student newspaper, dated Nov. 19, 1963, that featured a photo of Edith Gordon with the caption: "Interested in helping survey civil rights in this area? The League of Women Voters needs YOUR help to conduct a study of housing in North Brookhaven. For information contact Mrs. Edith Gordon..." Edith Gordon was active in the League of Women Voters of Brookhaven, including a term as its president; active in the New York Civil Liberties Union; cofounded the Art Barn in Setauket for school-age children when "the school district went on split session and they cut out art," according to Barry Gordon; and was an active participant at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Stony Brook, where she served as the president of the congregation. "Edith was an incredible person," said her longtime friend, former Brookhaven Town council member and twice candidate for Congress Reggie Seltzer of Bellport, "and always so pleasant." Seltzer's husband worked with Barry Gordon at Brookhaven National Laboratory and both women were active in the LWV and Democratic politics. "Edith was always thinking of the greater good," said county Legislator Vivian Viloria-Fisher, a close friend. "Edith was not milquetoast. She told you the truth — not always what you wanted to hear." A collection of Gordon's papers is in the Frank Melville Memorial Library at SBU. In addition to all her civic and educational activities Edith was an accomplished watercolor artist and printmaker all her life, said husband Barry. Rosemary Schumann of the Fellowship said an exhibit of Gordon's work is currently displayed at the UUF on Nicolls Road. Schumann added that she had just portrayed Jane Adams at the Fellowship's annual 1890s Fair on July 5 and 6. "That used to be Edith's role" before moving to the West Coast. Schumann said Gordon's ashes will be spread in the Fellowship's memorial garden, "where her mother's ashes are," following a memorial service to be held probably in September. In the meantime a service will be held at the Chalice Unitarian Congregation in Escondido, Calif., on Saturday, July 19, at 11 am. Gordon is survived by her husband, Barry; her son, Dan, his wife Marisa and their son Keith; and daughter Beth; as well as a brother, Rick Oppenheimer of Lancaster, Pa.