Obituary of J. Gordon Jarvis

Webster: Gordon Jarvis was born in southern Ontario, Canada in 1924. After graduating from Queen's University with a degree in engineering physics and serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force Signal Corps, he emigrated to the US to take a job as a research physicist at Eastman Kodak Company. In Rochester, he met the love of his life, Helen Barbara Nelson, and they married in 1947. They had two daughters, Barbara and Nancy, and the family had a wonderful life filled with projects and many skiing, hiking, backpacking, and traveling adventures. Gordon Jarvis was passionately curious about everything, infinitely capable of teaching himself almost anything, and meticulous in thought, word, and action. He was a brilliant physicist, a creative inventor, and a wonderful role model both at Kodak and at home. He had a prodigious memory and an enviable problem-solving ability - so many people who knew him tackled problems by thinking, "Now, how would Gordon have done that?" He was also an outstanding craftsman in both wood and metal, and he shared his knowledge and talents enthusiastically and patiently with his daughters and grandchildren, who will carry on his tradition of hard work, self-teaching, and exacting standards. At Cherry Ridge, where he and Helen moved in 2004, he became an icon in the community for his passion about feeding the life of the mind. He organized dozens of guest speakers for the community as well as many Great Courses series. Gordon was a warm and gentle person. He was proud of his Scottish heritage and his clan Ferguson ancestry. He passed away at home on December 8, 2014 and is survived by his loving wife, Helen, his two daughters, his three grandchildren, Carolyn, Alex, and Jackson, and his great grandson, Connor. Gordon also leaves behind his sister Doreen and many nieces and nephews and their families. We will celebrate Gordon's life on Sunday afternoon, December 14. Friends and family are invited to a memorial and reception beginning at 4 pm in the Community Room at Cherry Ridge, 900 Cherry Ridge Blvd., Webster, NY. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the "Douglas W. Jarvis Memorial Fund" at Queen's University, Kingston, ON K7L-3N6, Canada .