Clarissa Huntington Dyer Gordon, (age 94) died on July 13, 2025 in Willow Street, Pa., where she was a resident of Willow Valley Retirement Community for 25 years.
Chris was born in 1930 and grew up in St. Louis, Mo. She was a daughter of the late Randolph Harrison Dyer and Elizabeth Huntington Dyer, and was married for 58 years to the late Philip Colton Gordon. She is survived by their two children, Lisa Gordon Olsen of Bend, Oregon and Randy Gordon of Arlington, Va., as well as a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law, four grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. She was preceded in death by her brother, John Chouteau Dyer and her sister, Elizabeth Dyer Merrill.
Chris attended John Burroughs High School where she was elected the first female Speaker of the Assembly, then attended and graduated from Wellesley College and received her M.A. from Teachers College at Columbia University. She dedicated her professional life to education as a primary grade teacher for 37 years in Warwick, N.Y. Additionally, she studied educational systems in England, the Soviet Union, China, and Canada. As a lifelong student herself, Clarissa also attended educational programs at colleges throughout the U.S. She was an active member of the Warwick N.Y. Teachers’ Association, New York State United Teachers, and the American Federation of Teachers. She taught over 1,000 Warwick children and was a positive force in their lives.
She lived in Warwick, N.Y. for 47 years, where she was a member of Christ Episcopal Church. She belonged to the Junior League of Middletown N.Y., and the national PEO organization where she was honored as a 70-year member in 2022. She also loved reading and flower gardening, and belonged to the Garden Club of America. Chris traveled extensively with her husband Philip and loved spending time with her children and grandchildren.
More recently Chris was a member of St. James Episcopal Church in Lancaster, Pa.
She will be buried with her husband in the family plot in Heath, Mass.