HARRY D. GORDON

Wasilla resident Mr. Harry D. Gordon, 73, died at Valley Hospital Oct. 21, 2003.

A funeral service will be held at 1 p.m. Saturday at Valley Funeral Home, 151 E. Herning Avenue in Wasilla. Visitation will be at noon, prior to the service. Interment will follow the service at Wasilla Aurora Cemetery. His sons Bert, Ron, Dan and Gary Gordon; son-in-law Dale Vickers and grandsons Caleb, Brad and Jacob Gordon will serve as pallbearers.

A celebration of his life will be held at Bert Gordon's home following the interment.

Mr. Gordon was born March 3, 1930, in Pasadena, Texas.

He moved to Alaska in 1946 and worked evenings at Alaska Airlines to earn his high school diploma at Anchorage High School.

He served in the United States Navy.

Mr. Gordon worked in the construction business his entire working career. He never actually retired. He was known as the "Barrel Man," selling barrels in Wasilla for many years -- an income he didn't need.

His hobbies included many years of fishing and hunting. He enjoyed flowers, gardening, working in his yard and watching the habits of birds out his picture window. Everything was useful in some way and he enjoyed "making a buck," tinkering in his shop and listening to eight-track tapes.

His family wrote, "He was a man of honesty and integrity. We have so many memories of lots of family time in the early days, of making a harvest run to Homer and Stariski Creek -- the family would camp, fish and dig for clams. He was always there to help and was responsible in helping us all reach our dreams. He had a heart for the down and out and was eager to give them support to help them get on their feet. His enjoyment was in talking with people. He kept going even in his poor health for the past 13 years. Just weeks ago he was still trying to catch that halibut he never got. He was one of a kind, a legacy we will always treasure. No more pain."

Arrangements were made by Valley Funeral Home & Crematory in Wasilla.