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'I lost my best friend': Daryl Gordon remembered

Hannah Sparling
hsparling@enquirer.com
An undated photo of Daryl Gordon (in white) with Patty Garrett and fraternity brothers Billy Taylor (left) and Mark Bronson (rear).

There's a common refrain as loved ones reminisce about Daryl Gordon: He was a teddy bear.

But, not one of those small bears, the kind available for $10 or $20 in any old store. No, more like the giant novelty bears that cost hundreds of dollars – the kind only released every once in a while that rival real bears in size.

"He was always the biggest one in the bunch," said his childhood friend, Wilbert "Shorty" Johnson. "But, he was always the nicest in the bunch, too.

"He was the greatest friend – brother -- I could ever think of."

Gordon, 54, died Thursday morning after falling down an elevator shaft, trying to rescue residents during an apartment fire in Madisonville.

There's been an outpouring of support since the news broke, with a host of well-wishers lauding Gordon as a hero and offering sympathy to his family and friends.

Gordon's street in Glendale was quiet Thursday. There were several cars parked in the family driveway, but a woman who answered the door politely declined to speak.

Julia Whitehead, Johnson's mom, stopped by to offer her sympathy. Gordon grew up on her street, Whitehead said, and in her mind, he'll always be the rambunctious 8-year-old running around with her son.

She remembers how Gordon would cut her grass and refuse any payment, always eager to help.

"I said, 'How much do I owe you?'" she said.

And Gordon would respond: "You don't owe me nothing."

"He was the sweetest person," Whitehead said. "Oh, God -- it's just unbelievable. … I know he'll be truly missed."

Friends describe Gordon as a jokester who loved to cook, who was known for his smile and his big, deep, boisterous laugh.

"He was the funniest guy in the room, all the time," Johnson said. "And that laugh of his? You never forget it."

In an email to The Enquirer, Angela Deets wrote that when she was a bartender in Woodlawn, Gordon would stop in once or twice a week for wings and a beer. He would always ask for a Woodford Reserve --which he knew the bar didn't carry, Deets wrote.

"He would still ask for it anyway," she wrote. "He was big teddy bear and always left a big tip and a big hug.

"I am so sad for his family, but the outpouring of love for this man warms my heart. Not many people make such an impact in so many others' lives."

Patty Garrett met Gordon about 33 years ago, when she was part of a group that paired up with Gordon's college fraternity. Gordon was funny, nice and protective, always ready to stand up for any of his friends, Garrett said.

When she bought a new car – a candy apple red Camaro she couldn't even drive because it was a stick shift – Gordon showed her how, she said.

When the gears got stuck on the car, Gordon would climb underneath and knock them loose.

"He was just a good guy. I can't even describe him any other way than just a great person," she said.

"It hurts like hell that he's gone. But it really does make it wonderful to know that he died as a hero. He died doing what he loved."

At O'Bryon's Bar and Grill, where he works as a cook, Johnson couldn't decide Thursday whether to laugh or cry when talking about his friend.

Gordon was the first in their gang to get a car – oddly enough, an old maroon Camaro, Johnson said – and he used it to teach Johnson how to drive stick.

"Nobody had a car but Daryl," Johnson said. "All of us used to pile in and ride."

Later, they went to different colleges and joined rival fraternities, but they remained best friends.

When Gordon's first daughter was born, she was the first baby Johnson ever held, he said.

"It just hurts the way he went," he said. "I just hope he didn't suffer."

Some of Johnson's earliest memories of Gordon stem back to the Boy Scouts, which they joined together.

"Troop 600, I'll never forget," he said.

Then, they joined the Woodlawn Fire Department's cadet program. Johnson decided he'd rather be a cook, he said, but Gordon fell in love with firefighting.

"He said, 'I think this is what I want to do.'" Johnson said. "He always wanted to be a fireman.

"I lost my best friend. … No matter what it takes, I'm going to keep the memory of Daryl alive."