Al Gordon

Albert “Al” Gordon ’42 relished the opportunity to help Case and Case students and spent a long life pursing both goals. He died March 20, 2022, at the age of 101. 

A long-time member of the board of the Case Alumni Association, Gordon served three terms as president and was honored with the association’s most distinguished awards. Meanwhile, he lived a life of adventure, entrepreneurship, and familial devotion. 

Born and raised in Cleveland, Gordon went from Glenville High School to Western Reserve College but soon transferred to Case Institute of Technology, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in metallurgy. 

He served in World War II as a naval officer and was stationed in Hawaii, just after the attack on Pearl Harbor, where he helped plan the Okinawa invasion. After the war, he and his brothers founded Cosmo Plastics, which manufactured plastic bobbins and other parts for the electronics industry. 

A longtime resident of Beachwood, Gordon was married to his beloved wife, Lillian, for 66 years before her death in 2014. He nurtured a home greenhouse and brightened area nursing homes with gifts of plants. 

In 1997, he was elected to lead the Case Alumni Association as president. He served two more terms, 2004-05, and 2005-06, and spent many years on the scholarship committee, where he helped to award hundreds of thousands of dollars to deserving students. 

For his support of the CAA and the Case School of Engineering, Gordon received a Meritorious Service Award in 1993. In 2007, he was honored with the Samuel Givelber ’23 award for promoting fellowship. Then, in 2011, he was presented the Silver Bowl, the highest honor bestowed by the alumni association. 

Funeral services were held March 22 at Berkowitz-Kumin-Bookatz Memorial Chapel in Cleveland Heights. Burial was in Mount Olive Cemetery. The family asks that memorial contributions be made to the Jewish Federation of Cleveland, jewishcleveland.org.