Life of Gordon Frederick Maas
Gordon Fred Maas
November 15, 1925 - September 2, 2009
Born and raised on a farm north of Krem (Hazen) , North Dakota, the first son of Fred
and Hulda (nee Kuch) Maas, Gordon's siblings included three brothers and three sisters.
German was his primary language until he began his education in a one room county school house.
From an early age he was interested in airplanes and flying; in fact, after WW II
he purchased and flew an airplane of his own about which there are many interesting stories.
December 14, 1943, at 18 years of age, Gordon joined the Army-Air Corps during WW II, and after three years in the service as a radio operator was discharged on December 17, 1946. He took private flying lessons while in the service and he also had some interesting tales to tell of those times. He also served during the Korean conflict in the Air National Guard and the Air Force Reserves until 1960.
After serving in the military, Gordon went back to North Dakota where he helped build an electrical substation at the Garrison Dam in ND and helped with the installation of power lines for REA. He also lived for a time in Louisiana. In 1955, Gordon moved to Kansas City, Missouri where he worked for Kansas City Power and Light as a lineman, and met and married Clara, his wife of 53 years.
In 1960, the family moved to Banning, CA, where He worked in Palm Springs for California Electric. Gordon was also active in the Lutheran Church for many years.
In 1963, the family moved to Portland, OR where Gordon worked for Portland General Electric for about a year until they moved to Corvallis, OR and a lineman job with Pacific Power and Light in 1964.
His love of working with wood and building things with his hands began with building a play house for his oldest daughter, then in Corvallis a storage shed, which ended up getting taken over by his daughters for another play house. Over the years he also made furniture such as a magazine rack and a china cabinet, and as time went on, toys and furniture for his grandchildren. He also starting building his own experimental airplane but did not finish, his handy work is still on display in the garage of his home, the wings of an eagle
In 1972, Gordon moved his family to Beaverton, Oregon, for a new job in Portland with Pacific Power and Light as a cable splicer, from which he retired in 1988. Gordon spent the last years of his life in Beaverton, Oregon, where he enjoyed many happy times with his friends at the Elsie Stuhr Senior Center who will attest to his presentation of the gospel of Jesus Christ. He passed away peacefully in his sleep early in the morning of September 2, 2009
Gordon is survived by his brothers: Waldemar (LaVerna) of Bismarck, ND; Dennis (Hazel) of Riverside, CA; and Hilmer (Joyce) of Minot, ND; and sisters: Gertrude Berndt of Fargo, ND, Mildred (Ervin) Unruh of Corvallis, MT; and Carolyn Johnson of Seattle, WA; his wife Clara; his children: Ross McGhee, Karen O'Donnell, and Kaye Maas; and four grandchildren.
His parents, his first baby sister, and one great grand daughter and two brothers in law preceded him in death.
~Submitted by family member, Dennis Maas
