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Obituaries

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Rachel Olive Riches Gordon ’43

Rachel Olive Riches Gordon ’43, December 5, 2013, in Atlanta, Georgia. The daughter of Oregon pioneers, Rachel followed cousins Naomi Riches ’17, Hermione Riches ’23, and Cromwell Riches ’25 to Reed. She earned a BA in sociology during three years of study at the college, and though she moved from the state, her Riches family ties drew her back to Oregon for many reunions, and she did have the opportunity to attend her 50th class reunion at Reed. Rachel met Robert L. Gordon while he was serving in the army. They married in 1943 and were together until his death in 1982. They made a home in Richmond, Virginia, where he worked as a nursing home administrator, and they raised their children, Robert and M’Ellen. Rachel was a generous donor to Reed and a community volunteer in all places she lived. She moved to Georgia to be nearer to her daughter, who survives her, as do her son and a nephew. “She was a one-of-a-kind person and will be greatly missed.”

Appeared in Reed magazine: December 2014