Gordon S. Steadman, 81

LEE, Mass. — Gordon Stewart Steadman, 81, of St. Marys, Georgia, passed away peacefully on Friday, March 6, 2020, at Community Hospice and Palliative Care in Fernandina Beach, Florida, due to an inoperable brain tumor diagnosed in January.

Gordon was an inspiration to his family whom he dearly loved, to co-workers whom he mentored and to friends with whom he faithfully kept in touch. He lived life with a winning spirit – especially on the golf course – shooting his age or better 170 times. He also had four holes-in-one on his Osprey Cove home course and an Ace at Jekyll Island on New Year's Eve of the Millennium.

Gordon was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on September 14, 1938, the first child of Stewart Davis Steadman and Mary Masiero Steadman, both of whom preceded him in death. 

He is survived by his loving wife Jo Ann Steadman; daughter Lauren (Tom) Del Sarto of Indio, California; son Gordy (Natasha) Steadman of Leadville, Colorado; granddaughters Zoe, Skye and Maia Steadman; and his former wife, Doris Piercy Steadman, mother of his children. His children, their spouses and his grandchildren were by his side in his final days.

He is also survived by his sister, Gloria (Carloke) Sannermark of Peoria, Arizona, who assisted with his care in hospice; brothers Winston Steadman of Sun City, Arizona, and Roger Steadman of Belleview, Florida, and extended family in Florida, Colorado, Arizona, Oregon, Washington and Massachusetts.

After graduation from Lee High School, Gordon attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst from 1956-1960 on a Francis Ouimet Golf Caddie Scholarship, was a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity and graduated with a degree in civil engineering. In 1965 and 1966, he earned a master’s degree from Purdue University, while still serving in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Upon graduation from UMass, he was commissioned as first lieutenant and served in Germany for three years; after returning to the States, he later served in Korea and Vietnam and ended his Army career in 1970 as a major.

During his second career, Gordon managed planning, design and construction of infrastructure, golf courses and facilities at resorts - Amelia Island Plantation in Florida, Kiawah Island in South Carolina and Beaver Creek Ski Resort in Colorado. He built homes in a golf community in Virginia and developed apartment communities in North Carolina. In 1991, he and Jo Ann married and accepted positions to work on a golf course development on the island of Rota in the Mariana Islands, affording them the opportunity to travel throughout the Far East. They returned to the U.S. in 1993 and worked on developments in Florida and Illinois before retiring in 1999.

Gordon and Jo Ann settled in St. Marys in 2003 after cruising full-time for five years aboard their sailboat Charisma. They continued to sail to New England for six months each year until 2009, when they sold the sailboat and enjoyed retirement on and off the golf course.

Funeral notice: A celebration of Gordon's life will be in Georgia at St. Marys First Presbyterian Church on Saturday, March 21, 2020, at 11 a.m. Graveside services with Military Honors will commemorate his birthday in September in Lee, Massachusetts.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Gordon’s name to the HVAC Fund, First Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 709, St. Marys, Georgia 31558 or to the Honor Flight Fund, Kings Bay Chapter of Military Officers Association of America, P.O. Box 47191, Kings Bay, Georgia 31547.

Allison Memorial Chapel and Funeral Home in St. Marys and Kelly Funeral Home in Lee, Massachusetts, are handling arrangements.