Gordon Stewart Steadman, 81, of St. Marys 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.
Celebration of his life will be at St. Marys First Presbyterian Church on Saturday, March 21, at 11 a.m. Graveside services with military honors will commemorate his birthday in September in Lee, Massachusetts.
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 where he proudly shot his age or better 170 times. He also had four holes-in-one on his Osprey Cove home course and an ace on the Indian Mound Course at Jekyll Island on New Year’s Eve of the millennium. He loved sailing and travel, having toured throughout Europe and the Far East during his Army deployments and while living in the Mariana Islands.
Gordon was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, on Sept. 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 Steadman (Natasha) of Leadville, Colorado, and granddaughters Zoe, Skye and Maia Steadman. 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, who arrived from Peoria, Arizona, to assist in his care in hospice. Also surviving are brothers, Winston Steadman of Sun City, Arizona, and Roger Steadman of Belleview, Florida, as well as extended family in Florida, Colorado, Arizona, Oregon, Washington and Massachusetts.
Gordon and Jo Ann settled in St. Marys in 2003 after cruising full-time for five years aboard their sailboat Charisma, and then sailed north while the house was built. After moving into their home in 2004, they continued to sail to New England for six months each year until 2009, when they sold the sailboat and enjoyed playing golf together as year-round residents.
After graduation from Lee (Massachusetts) 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 earned a degree in civil engineering. In 1965-1966, he completed work on a master’s degree in construction management at Purdue University in Lafayette, Indiana, while still serving in the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Upon graduation from UMass, he was commissioned as a first lieutenant and went to 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; namely, Amelia Island Plantation in Florida, Kiawah Island in Charleston, South Carolina, and Beaver Creek Ski Resort in Avon, Colorado. He was a homebuilder in a golf community development of Brandermill in Midlothian, Virginia, and residential developments in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1991, he and Jo Ann accepted positions to work on the design and approval of a golf course development on the island of Rota and they moved to Saipan 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 Naples and Orlando, Florida, and Chicago, Illinois, retiring in 1999.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in Gordon’s name to the HVAC Fund, First Presbyterian Church, PO Box 709, St. Marys, GA 31558 or to the Honor Flight Fund, Kings Bay Chapter of Military Officers of America, PO Box 47191, Kings Bay, GA 31547.
Allison Memorial Chapel and Funeral Home of St. Marys is handling arrangements locally, and Kelly Funeral Home of Lee, Massachusetts, is handling the graveside service in September.