Gordon Dow:
CLASS OF 1963
Riverside - Brookfield High SchoolClass of 1963
Riverside, IL
Florida State University - LawClass of 1990
Tallahassee, FL
University of Central FloridaClass of 1985
Orlando, FL
Longfellow Elementary SchoolClass of 1956
Downers grove, IL
Gordon's Story
1963-1967 Electronics Petty Officer 2 USN USS Saratoga- Mayport/Mediterranean (during Vietnam)
1968-1978 Self-employed (Pet Shop) Orlando, FL
1974-1999 Magazine writer/Book author (515 articles & 5 books (Breeding Angelfish ... etc (See Amazon G. Steven Dow))Nationally known in pet industry. Pet Dealer Mag., TFH, and FAMA
1979 Grand Tour Western Europe. My dream! When Eurail was fun.
1980-1988 DoD Logistician GS-12 (simulators) Decorated: Commandant Marine Corps & Navy Award of Merit. Mostly Naval Aircraft and USMC simulators. Did a worldwide study for HQMC to create a support plan for all Marine simulators. Went to Japan/Okinawa six times, but never saw Mr. Miagi
1980 - Took SAT (no prep) 1340. Not bragging, just surprised.
1980-1985 Univ. Central FL BS cum laud Tau Beta Pi, Phi Kappa Phi
1985-1987 Photography school Orlando
1988-1990 FL State Col. Law (Phi Alpha Delta) Just missed cum laud because graduated early.
1991 Admitted FL Bar (first try, another surprise)
1991-1999 Practiced Law (Got appeal case in So.2d - insane slayer)
1995-1999 Tech Pubs Mgr, Firearms Training Systems (Police/Military simulators) Job outsourced - they got royally screwed when I left;))
1999-2007 USDA Packers and Stockyards, Anti-Trust Investigator (poultry) Six Awards of Merit GS-13 (acting GS-14)Retired from Federal Government. Worked out of Atlanta.
2007-2015 Bought small farm No. FL
(30 Goats/Chickens/Donkeys) Garden. Also have 3 horses, 2 dogs, 2 cats, 2 peafowl (they left), fruit trees, vineyard, blueberry patch. Still want to get geese & rabbits.
Married - wife Ruth (attorney). No children. Wrote under name of Steve Dow and G. Steven Dow. Also used pseudonyms. Never wrote under Gordon Dow. Mostly articles and books on tropical fish from Amazon River. My friend and mentor, Fred Cochu, was the foremost explorer of the Amazon River in 1930's, 1940's, and 1950's. He ...Expand for more
once owned a million acres along the Amazon River. He brought the first Neon Tetras to USA on the Hindenburg. He also found the first Black Ghost Knifes. We were good friends 25 years. I wrote his obit in TFH.
We've got a small L-shaped forest on two sides of the property inhabited by about six deer, 8 or 9 turkeys, fox squirrels and gray squirrels, gopher tortoises, some snakes, a pair of redheaded woodpeckers, red-tailed hawks, swallow-tailed hawks,... raccoons, and a few crows (which warn when hawks are around), cardinals, indigo buntings, and doves. Never a dull moment! (We are two miles from a state park.) Lately a red finch has a nest on my porch with 5 tiny speckled eggs. I try to help, but don't want to put them on welfare.
In 2010 we joined Ancestry.com and I did not have much hope of finding anything, but I was really surprised. I recommend it. On my Mom's side, I found lines going back to Scottish and English royals. Turns out I am a descendant of King John I who was made to sign Magna Carta (and also the enemy of Robin Hood) and several others back to William the Conqueror on back to a bunch of French royals, including Charlemagne, Charles Martel, the Merivingians, & Clovis I. I traced that line back (Clovis) to the Roman Empire, where an ancestor was a local Tetrarch of Galatia in 100 BC. Galacia was a Celtic settlement in Asia Minor. Of course I always remember Voltaire's words about families starting and ending with individuals, so I don't take any of it too seriously. I was pleased to see I am a descendant of Eleanor of Aquitaine and the Counts of Toulouse. Since I am interested in Longuedoc in SW France (I even tried to study Langue d'oc the language of troubadours) and the Cathars in the 12th Century in that region, the Counts of Toulouse generally supported the Cathars against the persecution of the Pope and the King of France, at least to the extent they could.
Register for Free to view all details!
Yearbooks
Register for Free to view all yearbooks!
Reunions
Register for Free to view all events!
Photos
