With his old personal restored fire truck parked on display, family, friends and various local and federal officials who worked with the late Bucoda Mayor Robert “Rob” Gordon attended a dedication ceremony in the small South Thurston County community on Tuesday, Aug. 19, renaming the town’s U.S. Post Service (USPS) office after Gordon.
A plaque that will be installed on Bucoda’s USPS office was unveiled reading: “This building is named in honor of Mayor Rob Gordon by an act of Congress public law 118-262 January 4, 2025.”
Renaming the post office became official when former U.S. President Joe Biden signed U.S. House Resolution 9412 into law on Jan. 4.
Gordon, a career volunteer firefighter who was 42, died in June 2024 following a nearly eight-month long battle with cancer.
Among the officials in attendance were members of the current Bucoda Town Council including Gordon’s wife, Councilor Miriam Gordon and Bucoda Mayor Callie Carpenter, Thurston County Commissioner Wayne Fournier and U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania.
Prior to becoming county commissioner, Fournier was the mayor of the neighboring community of Tenino and also worked alongside Gordon as a fellow volunteer firefighter.
Gluesenkamp Perez worked alongside Gordon during his tenure as mayor in efforts to obtain federal funding for a new fire engine for the Bucoda Fire Department, along with other improvements in the rural South Thurston County Community. She also spearheaded bipartisan efforts to file and pass HR 9421 following his death.
“At a time in Congress when it’s hard to get anything done, it’s striking how quickly we were able to move this. The entire delegation joined me in co-sponsoring this legislation and moving it forward,” Gluesenkamp Perez said. “It’s actually one of the last bills President Biden signed into law, and presumably, many here believe it was probably the best bill he passed into law.”
Though she only worked with Gordon for a short time before his death, as Gluesenkamp Perez was first elected in 2022, she stated his impact on her was still significant.
“It was so clear to me from the first time I met him, he was tough, he was fair-minded, he gave people a chance to be their best person. He was not going to bend down to anything he didn’t believe in. He was the epitome of a servant leader. And it was a privilege to know him,” Gluesenkamp Perez said.
Along with being Bucoda’s mayor, Gordon served as a firefighter starting at the age of 16, working his way up to be the Bucoda Fire Department’s assistant chief.
He also operated his own trucking company and the family’s ranch in town. He is survived by his two children, Jakob and Anna Gordon, along with his wife, Miriam.
