Gordy grew up in Alexandria, Va., and graduated from George Washington High School, where he was class president and an enthusiastic musician. At Princeton, he participated in the Marching and Concert bands and in Triangle Club as a band member and performer. He joined Quadrangle, majored in English, and was battalion commander in Navy ROTC.
Gordy served three years in the Navy, on a destroyer in the Atlantic Fleet, including deployment during the Cuban blockade. He earned an MBA at the Wharton School in 1965 and began his professional career in commercial banking in Washington, D.C.
In 1977, he moved into executive recruiting with a succession of Washington area firms. He later established the consulting firm Words on Purpose, advising both individuals and organizations on career changes for executives over 50 years of age.
Gordy was an accomplished woodworker. A keen outdoorsman, he trekked and camped in many of our national parks and led a group of Explorer Scouts on a Canada outing. Always a bandsman, Gordy earned Guinness Book of World Recordsstatus as a member of the largest (368) trombone ensemble ever.
He died Feb. 19, 2023, after a brief illness. He is survived by his two daughters and his former wife and good friend, Judie. Our condolences in their loss.