Dean Ernest Gordon was an important mentor for many of us in my day. Dean Gordon gave a talk in my hometown when I was in high school. It was organized by a family friend who was a Princeton graduate. So I got to meet Dean Gordon at a reception after his talk. He made such a good impression that I told him, should I be admitted, he would be one of the reasons I wanted to attend Princeton. He blended his ministry with a strong commitment to social justice, and wide intellectual interests.
He was always generous with his time, especially when I was new on campus. He invited me to his home, and invited me to monthly play-reading groups he led. As I recall, the group consisted mostly of grad students. I attended Chapel services most regularly my first semester, because I sang in the Chapel Choir then. Another year, he had popular luncheon gatherings in Murray-Dodge, with free-flowing discussions.
We stayed in touch after he retired. My wife and I hosted him and his wife in our home in suburban Maryland after he moved to Northern Virginia to run an organization he founded, Christian Relief Efforts for the Emancipation of Dissidents, in the U.S.S.R.
After they moved back to Princeton during their final years, I got to introduce my college-age daughter to them when we took them out to lunch. On the Alumni Day after his death, we were privileged to watch a documentary film made about his time in a Japanese prisoner-of- war camp during World War II.