Obituary of Annette Newman Gordon

Annette Newman Gordon, age 93, died in Santa Cruz on November 29, 2011. Annie was born in New York City on July 3, 1918 to Kenneth and Felecia Newman and given the middle name Victoria to commemorate the Allied victory at the Battle of the Marne. Annie attended Lawrence High School and was a proud graduate of Cornell University, Class of 1939 - a family tradition carried on most recently by her grandson, Matthew Lowenbraun. Some of Annie's happiest memories involved attending Cornell sporting events with her beloved father. It was a special joy for her to attend the national collegiate crew races and watch her grandson, Devon Ritch, row for Cal against Cornell. Annie was an effortlessly loving and supportive wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She was especially proud to support her late husband, Dr. Harold Gordon, distinguished internist and diagnostician, and help him be a caring and devoted healer. Her values informed his medical practice and imbued his life with meaning. Harold and Annie were married for 65 years and were loving companions until the end. Annie loved being a grandmother and playing with her grandchildren, Grace Robinson, Matthew Lowenbraun, Holter Graham, and Devon Ritch. She valued education and hard work and was thrilled to see Grace and Devon graduate from top law schools, Matthew graduate from business school, and Holter perform on the New York stage. She beamed as she walked down the aisle and was honored at her grandchildren's weddings. She lived to know and love her new great-granddaughters, Amy Collins and Hannah Lowenbraun. Annie was an avid sportswoman, excelling at tennis and swimming and relishing spectator sports, especially Ivy League competitions. Her children remember helping her cheer the Cornell football team to victory on crisp fall afternoons. Annie had a gift for friendship and stayed close to her dear sisters, Dorothy Seligman and Edith Weinberger, high school and college friends, AEPhi sorority sisters, and faithful tennis partners throughout her life. Annie is survived by her sisters and brother-in-law Donald Seligman; her children, Elizabeth, Margaret, and James Gordon; son-in-law Neil Lowenbraun and daughter-in-law Ann Clary Gordon; grandchildren Holter Graham (and Neela Vaswani), Devon (and Brenna) Ritch, Grace Robinson (and Kevin Collins), and Matthew (and Lisa) Lowenbraun; her great-granddaughters; and a host of devoted nieces and nephews, cousins, and friends. The family invites memorial donations to the UC Santa Cruz Foundation to benefit the Gordon Library Endowment, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064. Services will be held at Home of Peace cemetery, south side of Meder Street between Western Drive and Bay Street on Friday, December 2, 2011 at 11:00 a.m.