Gordon matriarch dies at 89

Amelia J. Gordon, mother of Senator Richard Gordon, passed away Wednesday. She was 89. A statement posted in the Philippine National Red Cross (PNRC) Web site described Mrs. Gordon as a humanitarian and a protector of human rights who had received many awards for her deeds. "Upon Mrs. Gordon’s passing, a pall of deep sorrow hovers over the Red Cross family. Her spirit however lives in the people she has helped and touched throughout the years," the PNRC said. It said that in 2002, Mrs. Gordon was awarded with the “Pearl S. Buck International Woman of the Year," an honor granted to women such as US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the late President Corazon Aquino. Mrs. Aquino was the first PNRC chairman in Olongapo City. She was also elected as the first woman mayor of Olongapo City following the assassination of her husband James Gordon, Sr. in 1967. She also became assemblywoman in the Batasan Pambansa in 1984. She is currently in repose at the Sanctuario de San Antonio, Forbes Park, Makati City. Her burial is set on November 25 in her hometown, Olongapo City. Mrs. Gordon is survived by her children Veronica “Onnie" Gordon-Lorenzana, Barbara “Bai" Gordon-Delos Reyes, Cecille Gordon-Mullen, Richard “Dick" Gordon, James “Bong" Gordon, and Imelda Deza. - GMANews.TV