Tax guru,
lover of kites dies at age 68 By Kakie Urch
By Kakie
Urch
The Desert Sun
Gordon remembered as Renaissance CPA, friend
PALM SPRINGS - HowardGordon, a partner
in one of the Coachella Valley's biggest accounting firms, a
radio broadcaster, a newspaper columnist and a flyer of kites,
died Tuesday at age 68.
A Palm Springs resident with his wife, Gerda, he had
been battling cancer for years and died of complications of
multiple myeloma on the day of his 47th wedding anniversary.
He was known for his sage tax advice, generous personality and
strong political views.
"We lost a great friend and a great partner. But more
importantly, we just lost a great person," said David Suss,
managing partner of Maryanov, Madsen, Gordon &
Campbell.
Memorial services are planned for Friday at Temple
Isaiah in Palm Springs.
Gordon, who served as managing partner of MMGC,
officially retired in 2003 from the firm he helped build, but
never really stopped working - serving in an active "of
counsel" role.
"Howard was very bright, he was creative and he
was very personable. More importantly, he got things done. He
was also very practical and he maintained excellent relations
not only with clients and with people within the firm. But
Howard had a great relationship with the IRS," said
Suss, who was hired by Gordon about 10 years ago.
"We've lost a kind, sweet man with a wonderful sense of
humor who always treated you with respect. Sitting with him as
a guest at KPSI was an honor," said Raphael Tulino of the
media relations section of the Internal Revenue Service for
Southern California and Nevada.
Radio, newspaper, charity
Gordon's radio show "Loopholes" on 920 AM KPSI
was a popular forum for financial advice.
Program director and "Newstalk" radio host Steve Kelly
said this morning's program from 8 to 9 a.m. would be
dedicated to Gordon, who was a regular guest on Kelly's
show.
"I worked with him for four years. He also hosted the
very popular show called 'Loopholes,' which was on since the
mid-'90s. He was a terrific fellow to work with. He was very
loyal to his friends, extremely loyal to his family and
extremely loyal to RR Broadcasting," Kelly said.
"We sometimes disagreed on politics, but he was a
delight to work with."
Gordon also wrote a bimonthly column on tax,
retirement and estate planning for The Desert Sun.
"Howard was well-regarded in the community. He
contributed a lot to The Desert Sun and readers enjoyed and
benefited from his columns. We will miss his insights and his
advice," said Desert Sun Executive Editor Steve Silberman.
A longtime board member at Angel View Crippled
Children's Foundation, Gordon was dedicated to the
charity that provides services to developmentally disabled and
special needs children throughout the valley.
Kite-flying accountant
Originally from Chicago, Gordon joined MMGC in
1972 and focused his practice on providing comprehensive tax,
estate and financial planning services to individuals,
corporations, partnerships and estates.
He was a graduate of Roosevelt University in Chicago
and studied taxation at DePaul University Graduate School.
Not your "typical" accountant, Gordon loved the
outdoors, touring by bicycle with his wife, traveling and
flying kites at local parks and at exhibitions as far away as
Poland and Italy.
His personalized license plate read KITEBUM, and his
home answering machine often featured his granddaughter's
voice saying, "Grandpa is out flying kites. Please leave a
message."
His three grandchildren, Suss said, were "the loves of
his life. In his office, he has a calendar that has each month
has pictures of his two granddaughters and a huge poster of
the 2000 Little League World Series, which his grandson Alex
played in," he said.
At that event in Pennsylvania, Gordon provided
the ESPN commentators with on-air explanations of the win-loss
system.
Care for the working man
Speaking about her late husband on her 47th wedding
anniversary, Gerda Gordon confirmed what
Gordon's colleagues had said.
"We've been together since I was 16," she said. "He'd
always come home for dinner. He didn't care if it was tax
season or what. His personal life, his family life came first.
We were riding bikes, we'd be flying kites, it would be
something else," she said, noting that Gordon had been
riding six miles a day on a special recumbent up until three
weeks ago.
"Ultimately, he really was a bleeding-heart liberal in
the best-sense of the word - caring for every man and woman,"
she said.
Gordon was dedicated to Democratic causes and
the Democratic Party, hosting fundraisers for candidates in
the heavily Republican Coachella Valley.
"He cared about his country, he cared about his
community. He loved his family and he loved what he did. And,
he made a difference," said Elle Kurpiewski, president of
Democrats of the Desert.
"Howard cared about working people. He cared
about the working man and woman in this country and wanted to
see them get the right things, the things they deserved.
Universal health care, affordable prescription drugs, a fair
tax code. He really was concerned," Kurpiewski said.
The Gordons were friends with "M*A*S*H" executive
producer Larry Gelbart, Gerda Gordon said. "When Larry
Gelbert wrote his book, he signed it, 'to Howard, the
Renaissance CPA,' and I felt that kind of summed it up. There
wasn't anything or anyone he wasn't interested in."
Copyright (c) The Desert Sun. All rights reserved. Reproduced
with the permission of Gannett Co., Inc. by NewsBank,
inc.
