This Lifelong Friendship Proved Stronger Than Death

He was the kind of friend who showed up when I needed him most — and stayed with me, even after he was gone.

I’ve always believed there’s something spiritual about an enduring friendship. We all forge friendships in life, but few last a lifetime. Those of us who have had these firm bonds with others have been blessed.

Little did I realize that when I met Gordon in the doctoral history program at Florida State University in the early 1960s, we were taking the first step in developing a firm, caring friendship that would last more than 50 years.

Our backgrounds were different. I was a Polish American Catholic from Florida by way of Massachusetts. He came from Ohio and was Protestant. He was older than I was and had served in the armed forces. He had an intelligent, lovely wife, Joyce, who was pregnant with their first child. I was a scrawny kid in my early 20s who existed on coffee and cigarettes — a habit I kicked when I married my wife, Marita, and she became pregnant with our first child.

It became immediately apparent that Gordon and I shared a passion for history — and a desire to impart that passion someday to college students. We took many of the same courses and often held study sessions where we shared ideas, insights and information. My sense of humor often brought Gordon to hearty laughter, which relieved the stress and tension of intense study in which we were engaged for several years. Sometimes, I’d deliberately say something funny just to hear his unique infectious laughter.

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