By Owen Sexton /owen@chronline.com
While Bucoda Mayor Rob Gordon is undergoing chemotherapy after being diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer in November, Town of Bucoda Councilor Kiersten Presley asked for “Christmas spirit” to be sent to his children this holiday season.
She made the request during a South Thurston Economic Development Initiative meeting in Rochester’s Swede Hall on Friday, Dec. 15.
“We are asking for any coloring pages, Christmas cards, anything that you can send to our mayor’s children, Jakob and Anna. … Obviously their dad is going through a lot, so they just want a little Christmas spirit from Christmas elves,” Presley said.
Those wishing to send Jakob, 8, and Anna, 7, some Christmas cheer can address letters, cards or gifts to P.O. Box 263, Tenino, WA, 98589.
Gordon began chemotherapy on Nov. 27 and underwent his second infusion on Monday, Dec. 11, according to a Thursday, Dec. 14, Facebook post. He said his oncologist was optimistic about the first infusion’s results.
“He felt that my labs have indicated that (the) first round has stopped progression and my blood work is starting to move in the right direction,” Gordon said on the Dec. 14 Facebook post. “I told him, let’s keep it going!”
“We still got a road ahead but I’m grateful for all the support and the progress we have made,” Gordon told The Chronicle on Monday.
In addition to still carrying out his mayoral duties, he is a volunteer firefighter, truck driver and ranch owner.
Fellow community members have come together to organize fundraisers for Gordon and his family,including a spaghetti dinner and auction held this past Sunday in Bucoda.
It included members from multiple local Order of the Odd Fellows lodges, the Bucoda Improvement Club, the Bucoda Firefighters Association and the Tenino Fire Department.
As of Monday, Presley estimated they had raised more than $15,000 for Gordon and his family at the spaghetti dinner.
Those who missed Sunday’s event can still donate to Gordon’s family through a GoFundMe campaign set up by Gordon’s sister-in-law at https://gofund.me/7b74c3f3.
As of the morning of Monday, Dec. 18, the campaign had raised $9,620 out of a $50,000 goal.
Additionally, anyone planning on ringing in New Year’s Day with a frigid dip into Offut Lake at the Offut Lake Resort’s annual Polar Plunge event on Jan. 1 can also donate to Gordon and his family. Donations given at the event will benefit them.
The Polar Plunge begins at 9 a.m. on New Year’s Day with breakfast beginning at the Lady of the Lake Public House — located at 4005 120th Ave. SE, Tenino — and the plunge commencing at 10 a.m.
For more information, call the Offut Lake Resort at 360-264-2438 or visit the resort’s Facebook page at https://bit.ly/3urJ8dt.
