V. Gordon “Gordy” Lell

Dr. V. Gordon Lell died at his home in Moorhead on Saturday, April 25, 2009, under the care of Hospice of the Red River Valley. Gordon was born in Delta, Colorado, on February 10, 1935, to Adolph and Leona Cribbs Lell. Following high school, Gordon attended Western State College in Gunnison, where he earned a B.A. degree with majors in English and Applied Music piano. While at Western, Gordon married his Colorado sweetheart Sylvia Chalfant. Upon graduation from Western, Gordon began his career as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Naval Reserve. He served active full-time duty from 1957-62, then in Naval Reserve Units in Cheyenne, WY, Lincoln, NE, and Fargo, retiring with the rank of Captain in 1987.Gordon's professional literary career began with an M.A. in 1964 from Colorado State University, Fort Collins, and a Ph.D. from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln, in 1970. Gordon accepted a teaching position at Concordia College, where his study of the medieval and Elizabethan worlds flowered into a career of thirty-nine years of making those worlds come alive for students. In his almost legendary Shakespeare course, Gordon taught thousands of students to understand and appreciate the Bard. He also taught the love of theater, organizing off-campus trips to theater productions for more than 6,000 students and leading numerous study seminars abroad, as well as summer tours to U.S. and Canada Shakespeare festivals. Gordon received the Faculty Recognition Award for teaching excellence from the Concordia College Student Association in 1977 and the Flaat Distinguished Teaching Award from the college in 1996. Gordon also shared his wealth of knowledge with the community through his well-known Shakespeare Communiversity classes. In recent years, Gordon was invited to extend his range by conducting "Gordy & the Guthrie" lectures in Minneapolis. He also enjoyed connections to the community through his associations with fellow patrons of the arts, reading group members, and tennis partners. He kept up his own regimen of piano practice throughout his life. Gordon's most important role, however, remained that of passionate teacher of undergraduate students, motivating and mentoring students and leaving a lasting impression on their lives. He didn't doubt for a moment that literature?especially Shakespeare's plays and poems?holds lessons about life that need to be learned and relished. He lived what he taught to the end, reciting sonnets from memory as he faced difficult times with physical illness during the last months of his life. Gordon is survived by his spouse, Sylvia; sons Jay, Las Vegas, NV, and Cory Shelly, Minneapolis; granddaughter Sofia Mattson and honorary granddaughter Fiona Mattson, Stillwater, MN; stepfather, Joe Smith, Delta, CO; two sisters, Kathryn Myers, Seibert, CO, and Lorraine Driscoll, Parker, AZ; and 13 nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his parents. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Hospice or the V. Gordon Lell Endowed Scholarship, Concordia College.