On Friday, December 22, 2023, at the age of 92, our founding Executive Director Gordon Eldredge passed away.  Gordon or “Moke” as he was known to so many, is survived by his wife, Loretta, and four daughters and was born to dedicated Salvation Army officers in the early years of the Great Depression.  From an early age, Gordon’s family shaped his commitment to service and his first exposure to the Boys & Girls Club was when his family was transferred to Baltimore where his father founded the Salvation Army Red Shield Boys Club, which Gordon would later run.

When Gordon was 19, the Korean War was on, and he joined the Navy, serving as a medic, with his brother Bob, who he served with on the USS Roosevelt after his mother petitioned President Truman to have them serve on the same ship!  After his service in the Navy, Gordon attended college in Baltimore and began his journey with the Boys Club working summers at Camp Puh’tok, and later becoming a program director at the Boys Club of Germantown, Pennsylvania.

Gordon’s love of Native American culture brought him west on a family vacation, where he unexpectedly found himself in Billings thanks to his purchase of a untanned buffalo hide with bugs!  He was looking to purchase a car top carrier for his new purchase and while visiting with the clerk at the store, he learned that there was a meeting about starting a Boys Club scheduled for that afternoon, so he went, and as they say, the rest is history.  Thanks to the bugs in that buffalo hide, Gordon began a 25-year journey in our community leading Montana’s first, and largest Boys & Girls Club.  There were many highlights during his career, which included:

• Opening our first Club on February 4, 1971 in the Western Heritage Center,
• Finding ways to serve girls at the Club years before the organization became the Boys & Girls Club,
• Building the award-winning Bair Family Clubhouse that still serves as our home today,
• Mentoring leaders on the Northern Cheyenne Reservation as they opened Montana’s second Club, and
• Serving as an interim Director for multiple Boys & Girls Clubs across the country after he retired in 1995.

I had the privilege to spend many hours with Gordon and Loretta during my years here at the Club, and learned much about his journey, vision, commitment, and compassion that is his legacy of service that improved the lives thousands of those who need us most, across Yellowstone County, Montana, and the United States.

Late last summer it was our privilege to host Gordon and Loretta at the Bair Family Clubhouse so he could see the Clubhouse and meet the current Club leaders who strive to carry on his legacy through the ideals he established back in 1971.  While Gordon is physically gone, it is my hope that his memory and legacy will live on in our team as we remain committed to the mission he started, which is to enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to realize their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens.

To honor Gordon’s Legacy of Service, you are invited to join us at the Bair Family Clubhouse on Saturday, September 14^th at 11:00 am for a Celebration of Life.  We are working on a video for the event, and I would ask if you have pictures of Gordon you email them to me at bdennis@bgcyellowstone.org.