James Terry Gordon, of Norcross, Ga, died Wednesday, Dec. 30, 2020, following a short, non-COVID–related illness. Although his death was unexpected, he passed away peacefully at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta, surrounded by his immediate family.
Terry, as he was known to family and friends, was the founder and owner of a small accounting practice, J. Terry Gordon & Company, C.P.A., in Norcross. He truly loved his work and was still involved in the practice full time at the time of his illness. He was also an active member of his church, Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church, in Lilburn, Ga., of which he was a founding charter member and where he remained an active member for all of his life, at times serving as an Elder and as Treasurer. Terry dedicated his life to service and volunteered his time with numerous charitable and community organizations. In his free time, he cherished gardening, reading, watching old Westerns on television, and spending time at home and traveling with his beloved wife Jane.
Terry was born on Jan. 9, 1943 in Fitzgerald, Ga., to the late Verna Revels Gordon and James Manning Gordon. After completing high school in Fitzgerald, he attended South Georgia State College, in Douglas, and graduated from Georgia Southern College, in Statesboro. Terry moved to Atlanta after college, and shortly thereafter was called into active duty as a Sergeant with the United States Air Force Reserve, stationed at Dobbins Air Reserve Base in Marietta, Ga. During this time, he married Jane, and they settled in Lilburn.
Terry began his professional career as an accountant at Touche Ross & Co. (now Deloitte & Touche) in 1972. He later joined the practice of Ashworth & Associates, in Tucker, Ga., before founding his own practice in 1984.
Throughout his career, Terry lent his professional expertise to countless professional and charitable organizations. He was a member and past president of the Rotary Club of Gwinnett County, and he represented his local district in many state-level activities. For years, he served as chairman and other leadership roles for the Georgia Rotary Student Program, an organization that provides one-year scholarships to international students for study at Georgia colleges and universities. Terry also was a board member of Zoo Atlanta, where he provided financial guidance on the renovation of the Zoo in the 1980s and for the arrival of the Zoo’s first pandas in 1999. Terry served as a board member for the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, and during his tenure he traveled to Africa with members of the organization involved in the protection and conservation of Mountain Gorillas and their habitat in Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Among other organizations that Terry served are the Norcross Housing Authority; Annandale Village in Suwanee, Ga.; the Gwinnett Chamber, Gwinnett Community Bank, Hudgens Center for Art and Learning, and Rainbow Village, all in Duluth, Ga. There are numerous others, too many to list.
Unselfish with his time, Terry was always eager to help and to offer his personal and professional advice to countless friends, family, colleagues, acquaintances, businesses, organizations, and even strangers.
One word used to describe Terry by so many people who knew him is “generous.” He was eternally generous with his time and with his spirit. Routinely, Terry would come home late in the evenings after a day filled with various work- and volunteer-related activities. In fact, one of his colleagues remembered seeing Terry in the office around noon on Christmas Eve 2020.
Terry is survived by the love of his life and his wife of 52 years, Jane Lowe Gordon, of Norcross; daughter Cynthia Jane Gordon and her partner Michael Ingenthron, of Washington, D.C.; son Christopher Manning Gordon and his wife Kristin Joye and their children, Nathan and Amelia, of Lilburn; brother James Denny Gordon and his family of Tallahassee, Fla.; and a host of extended family and close friends.
A Celebration of Life service for the immediate family will take place on Sunday, January 10, 2021 at 3:30pm EST at Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church in Lilburn, Ga. The service will be live-streamed and available for later viewing at goodshepherdpc.org/watch-live.
In lieu of flowers, those who would like to commemorate Terry’s life may consider making a donation to one of the following charities, or to a favorite charity of their choice: Annandale Village, 3500 Annandale Road, Suwanee, Ga., 30024 (annandale.org); Georgia Rotary Student Program, P.O. Box 61327, Savannah, Ga., 31420 (grsp.org); Good Shepherd Presbyterian Church Memorial Fund (“in loving memory of Terry Gordon”), 1400 Killian Hill Road SW, Lilburn, Ga., 30047 (goodshepherdpc.org); Rainbow Village, 3427 Duluth Highway 120, Duluth, Ga., 30096 (rainbowvillage.org).
Condolences may be shared with the family online at crowellbrothers.com/obituaries.
Arrangements by Crowell Brothers Funeral Homes & Crematory, 5051 Peachtree Industrial Boulevard, Peachtree Corners, Ga., 30092. 770-448-5757.