At the beginning of this year, former U.S. President Joe Biden signed U.S. House Resolution 9421 into law, officially renaming the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) office in Bucoda after the late Bucoda Mayor Robert “Rob” Gordon.
According to Bucoda Mayor Callie Carpenter, USPS officials have now contacted her and informed her the official ceremony to rename the post office is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, Aug. 19. U.S. Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez, D-Skamania, will also be attending the ceremony, Carpenter added.
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.
Gordon, a career volunteer firefighter who was 42, died in June of 2024 following a nearly eight-month long battle with cancer.
“Rob was tough, fair minded and always gave people the opportunity to be the best version of themselves. His passing is a true loss for our community, but his life of service and dedication will remain forever,” Gluesenkamp Perez said in a January 2025 news release. “I’m grateful to have had the chance to know and work alongside him. By renaming Bucoda’s Post Office — and by defining our values and our heroes for ourselves — we can help preserve Rob’s legacy and remind our children what matters in life. I’m grateful to my bipartisan colleagues for their support in getting this legislation across the finish line and signed into law, and I can’t wait to see this become reality.”
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 Gordon, who now serves on the Bucoda Town Council alongside Carpenter.
