Gerry (Mom & Grandma, Great Grandma) Passed away Peacefully while she was sleeping. She was surrounded by her Family that Loved her very much. When she passed away, she was a patient at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Bellingham, Washington on February 8, 2019 at 3:43 a.m. Gerry was born on June 16, 1935 in Riverside California to Paul Howard Gordon and Eva Frederickson Gordon.
She was a naturally gifted Artist. In her early years she painted with oils. By using the metal lids from the “Cottage cheese containers” (back then) she would create a picture on the back of the lids of the Ocean and of Nature.
As she raised her children she did a great deal of sewing. She made Halloween costumes and many other things for her family, including her own wardrobe. Her patterns were designed by her.
She drew on newspaper and then she would cut her pattern out of them. When my Dad became Chief of the Nation, For Indian Guides; he volunteered her to sew a twelve man teepee. She took on this huge project and challenge and it literally took over the Master Bedroom from wall to wall.
Throughout her Life she found that crocheting afghans was relaxing for her. Then she began to embroider patterns of beauty on all her afghans. She was an outstanding cook and baker.
It was cooking of meals as well as what she baked that made her the happiest. She continually invented new recipes, always giving respect to cooking from scratch. That in itself came from a her heart and she continued doing so right up until the end.
Her family and friends always asking for her famous Potato Salad and Casseroles. As well as Her baking shall never be forgotten. Every Holiday she cooked for her husband as well as her family and friends.
We all looked forward to everything she cooked and baked. As a young adult Gerry enjoyed horseback riding with her friends including Ronald Reagon (Before he was a President) and they would go Riding all over his property and the Beach. Gerry lived with high standards with Honesty and respect.
Her strong foundation in Life was her Love and Belief in God. She was true to herself. This she shared openly and outwardly to others.
At age ten she suffered with cancer for a year. Her Mother took a Street Car for two hours and then continued to walk the rest of the way to the Hospital every Sunday for their only visit. Hospitalized for almost a year in a Ward for children with cancer, she was the only child to survive.
She was a miracle at that time, and March of Dimes that helped children then, called her throughout her life to see if she still was alive. My mom always dreamed of attending a College of the Arts but was not able to obtain her dream. .
She started working and helping her family with her earnings at age twelve. She picked berries and other fruit, as well as babysitting to earn what her family needed as she grew up. At sixteen she worked at a home made Candy Store, “Al Sheets” in Hollywood, California.
As a young adult, she started working at Whittaker’s in North Hollywood as a Mail Clerk, which is a Company that makes Aerospace products. It was there that my mom met Richard Paul Mattson (Deceased) who worked in Production, at the same Company. On June 16, 1956 she married Richard Paul Mattson in North Hollywood, at Hope Lutheran Church.
Three months before her wedding she was asked to be a Model at a Fashion Show in Hollywood. She felt like a Queen when she was handed this Beautiful Wedding Dress to Model. It was truly one she could only Dream about, but never to be able to afford.
After modeling the dress, they asked her if she wanted it for her own wedding. She was extremely happy especially knowing this was a “one of a kind dress”. She continued to work as a mail clerk for one in a half years, when she left to give birth to her first child.
Shortly thereafter they bought a home in Simi Valley, California, where they raised their three children and one full term still-born baby that she lost. They had a Daughter Julie Ann Mattson (Hanft)and two son’s, Mark Richard Mattson,(Deceased at nineteen years old) and Bryant George Mattson. Gerry was a mom and was a “Block Parent” for their neighborhood.
Which was A Safe Place that all children could visually see in the poster in their window of their home. Letting children know it was a safe house to go to. She worked part time in Retail, in the evening after Dinner.
She wanted everything for her children, that she never had. She was a Girl Scout Leader and always in charge of the PTA (Parent Teacher Association. She did it all and never complained.
She was always part of a Bowling League that she loved and was very good at receiving a great deal of trophies. Gerry suffered from Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus and High Pulmonary Pressures, which took her life. She was on full Oxygen the last four years of her life.
She went through the pain and put up a good fight to survive until the end. She never let her difficulty in breathing stop her from getting out in the world. She never stopped cooking or baking until the last weeks of her life.
She was fiercely independent and a brave Warrior through all of her suffering. She Blessed all her family and friends with her Grace and Love in which she always lived by. She will be very sadly missed by all who knew her.
She was dedicated to her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Leaving a hole in all of our lives as we try to move forward holding tight to all of our many memories. She left behind two children, Julie Ann Hanft married to Eric E Hanft, children Steve Eric Hanft with wife Aimee and their Daughter Abbie.
Tim Richard Hanft with wife Talonna and daughter Lexi. Then three step Grandchildren Tod, Bryan and Monica. Second child Bryant George Mattson married to Tamara Lynn Mattson and children Nick and Rachel.
We will ALL miss you so very much as well as your many friends. Gerry (Mom & Grandma, Great Grandma) Passed away Peacefully while she was sleeping. She was surrounded by her Family that Loved her very much.
When she passed away, she was a patient at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Bellingham, Washington on February 8, 2019 at 3:43 a.m. Gerry was born on June 16, 1935 in Riverside California to Paul Howard Gordon and Eva Frederickson Gordon. She was a naturally gifted Artist. In her early years she painted with oils.
By using the metal lids from the “Cottage cheese containers” (back then) she would create a picture on the back of the lids of the Ocean and of Nature. As she raised her children she did a great deal of sewing. She made Halloween costumes and many other things for her family, including her own wardrobe.
Her patterns were designed by her. She drew on newspaper and then she would cut her pattern out of them. When my Dad became Chief of the Nation, For Indian Guides; he volunteered her to sew a twelve man teepee.
She took on this huge project and challenge and it literally took over the Master Bedroom from wall to wall. Throughout her Life she found that crocheting afghans was relaxing for her. Then she began to embroider patterns of beauty on all her afghans.
She was an outstanding cook and baker. It was cooking of meals as well as what she baked that made her the happiest. She continually invented new recipes, always giving respect to cooking from scratch.
That in itself came from a her heart and she continued doing so right up until the end. Her family and friends always asking for her famous Potato Salad and Casseroles. As well as Her baking shall never be forgotten.
Every Holiday she cooked for her husband as well as her family and friends. We all looked forward to everything she cooked and baked. As a young adult Gerry enjoyed horseback riding with her friends including Ronald Reagon (Before he was a President) and they would go Riding all over his property and the Beach.
Gerry lived with high standards with Honesty and respect. Her strong foundation in Life was her Love and Belief in God. She was true to herself.
This she shared openly and outwardly to others. At age ten she suffered with cancer for a year. Her Mother took a Street Car for two hours and then continued to walk the rest of the way to the Hospital every Sunday for their only visit.
Hospitalized for almost a year in a Ward for children with cancer, she was the only child to survive. She was a miracle at that time, and March of Dimes that helped children then, called her throughout her life to see if she still was alive. My mom always dreamed of attending a College of the Arts but was not able to obtain her dream.
. She started working and helping her family with her earnings at age twelve. She picked berries and other fruit, as well as babysitting to earn what her family needed as she grew up.
At sixteen she worked at a home made Candy Store, “Al Sheets” in Hollywood, California. As a young adult, she started working at Whittaker’s in North Hollywood as a Mail Clerk, which is a Company that makes Aerospace products. It was there that my mom met Richard Paul Mattson (Deceased) who worked in Production, at the same Company.
On June 16, 1956 she married Richard Paul Mattson in North Hollywood, at Hope Lutheran Church. Three months before her wedding she was asked to be a Model at a Fashion Show in Hollywood. She felt like a Queen when she was handed this Beautiful Wedding Dress to Model.
It was truly one she could only Dream about, but never to be able to afford. After modeling the dress, they asked her if she wanted it for her own wedding. She was extremely happy especially knowing this was a “one of a kind dress”.
She continued to work as a mail clerk for one in a half years, when she left to give birth to her first child. Shortly thereafter they bought a home in Simi Valley, California, where they raised their three children and one full term still-born baby that she lost. They had a Daughter Julie Ann Mattson (Hanft)and two son’s, Mark Richard Mattson,(Deceased at nineteen years old) and Bryant George Mattson.
Gerry was a mom and was a “Block Parent” for their neighborhood. Which was A Safe Place that all children could visually see in the poster in their window of their home. Letting children know it was a safe house to go to.
She worked part time in Retail, in the evening after Dinner. She wanted everything for her children, that she never had. She was a Girl Scout Leader and always in charge of the PTA (Parent Teacher Association.
She did it all and never complained. She was always part of a Bowling League that she loved and was very good at receiving a great deal of trophies. Gerry suffered from Rheumatoid Arthritis, Lupus and High Pulmonary Pressures, which took her life.
She was on full Oxygen the last four years of her life. She went through the pain and put up a good fight to survive until the end. She never let her difficulty in breathing stop her from getting out in the world.
She never stopped cooking or baking until the last weeks of her life. She was fiercely independent and a brave Warrior through all of her suffering. She Blessed all her family and friends with her Grace and Love in which she always lived by.
She will be very sadly missed by all who knew her. She was dedicated to her children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Leaving a hole in all of our lives as we try to move forward holding tight to all of our many memories.
She left behind two children, Julie Ann Hanft married to Eric E Hanft, children Steve Eric Hanft with wife Aimee and their Daughter Abbie. Tim Richard Hanft with wife Talonna and daughter Lexi. Then three step Grandchildren Tod, Bryan and Monica.
Second child Bryant George Mattson married to Tamara Lynn Mattson and children Nick and Rachel. We will ALL miss you so very much as well as your many friends. STRONG WINGS TOOK MOM ON HER FINAL FLIGHT… I watch you sleeping Your demeanor is calm While you finally look so Peaceful.
I guess the fear of seeing you suffer was more about not wanting to see you go. It took everything I had inside of me to make sure I was with you during your last days. Mom you were right as always All of my deepest fears went right out of me Showing me that your body, was now just a “Shell” Teaching me that the fear i felt was only, about fear itself.
Your Spirit was leaving you and before me was just a body. I knew your Spirit would leave to soar up above. Even though “lucid” times were very few It was like you were preserving your energy To speak only what needed to be said.
Sometimes you just don’t have to “Dive in Deep” To find the answers. Instead they come in small doses That guide you through. Than again that is always what you would do.
I hold tight to the very little you said and placed them safely into my heart. You were a light in a dark room! For your Faith in God is how you lived.
I hope you can hear my voice As i am walking along your side everyday. I don’t know why you and I have lived this life With the same health challenges. I would Never change anything about my path in life Because that brought us closer together Not just as a daughter but as your Best Friend.
My life is dark right now and filled with heart ache. My desire is to capture these memories and stories of you I place them into my soul and hold them dear. I am grieving for you Mom and I don’t want to let you go.
Time will pass and move me forward. Your Light causes my darkness to get brighter every day. Because you are my mom who knew me so well!
One day I will put my sorrow under the sand on my Beach. I will carry your ashes out to Sea. You will soar above us all Spreading your wings because now you are free!
I have gathered the love you have given to me With that Love my Heart will mend. When the time comes We will be joining you out at Sea. A thousand years from now on windswept shores Will be a gentle reminder of Precious Love.
A storm of uncertainty tries to overtake A need to absorb the Pain. Until then I will fill my soul… With memories and feelings from a “Mom” so true That has become part of this “Bright Light” in my sky. Showing all of us to look “up Above” For that is what she believed to be true Still guiding me along this path Because”That is what my mom would do”.
Written & Copyright on 2-11-2019 By: Julie Hanft Author In Lieu of Flowers you can send a Check for a Donation to her son Bryant Mattson. Where her Daughter Julie Hanft will be sending the donation for people who suffer from, “High Pulmonary Pressures”, which is what caused Our Mother, Gerry to lose her Life.
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