Richard "Dick" Gordon

Richard "Dick" Gordon, theoretical biologist, was born November 6, 1943 in Brooklyn, New York. He died in Dauphin, Manitoba Canada June 14, 2026, after a brief illness with AML. He is survived by his wife, retired scientist Natalie K Björklund-Gordon, children, Leland, Bryson, Chason Gordon, and Justin, Alan, and Lana Hunstad, siblings Dan, Helen and Bill Gordon and many blended family grandchildren, nieces and nephews. He was predeceased by his parents Jack and Diana Gordon.

Gordon was educated at University of Chicago where he did an undergraduate degree in mathematics and a PhD at University of Oregon in chemical physics. Gordon was a professor at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada from 1978 to 2011. Gordon was an eclectic scientist and prolific writer with over 200 peer-reviewed publications in a wide number of fields. He has edited over two dozen academic books and special issues of scientific journals including two books of his own both of which detail his work on embryology. Gordon was summoned twice to the Canadian Parliament to testify as an expert scientific witness. He is best known for interdisciplinary and cross disciplinary work bridging biology with fields such as mathematics, engineering, physics and chemistry. Most notably he started the field of adaptive image processing by creating the nonlinear Algebraic Reconstruction Technique thereby making three dimensional imaging such as CT and MRI possible. He founded the Canadian charity “Books With Wings” a collaborative project between Canadian, British, and American students, and their counterparts in Afghanistan along with the Canadian military to provide books for universities throughout Afghanistan. After five years of travel trailer exploration, he settled in Alonsa Manitoba in 2018 where he resided until his death.

Interment has taken place at the Gray's Ridge Cemetery after a private graveside ceremony. Those who wish to do so are encouraged to make a donation to Right to Learn Afghanistan. The family would like to thank Dr. Lauren Baker and staff at Dauphin Regional Hospital for their wonderful patient centered care during his difficult transition to his next life.