Alfred Call Cordon, Jr.
Published May 22, 2004
Former Bainbridge Island resident Alfred Call Cordon, Jr. died May 22. He was 86.
He was born Oct. 7, 1917 in Rigby, Ida., to Rose and Alfred Cordon, Sr. He had four sisters, Maxine, Julie, Rose and Beverly.
He enlisted in the military during World War II, serving in the Air Force Reserve. He was a Radio Operator and Mechanic AAF, in the Asiatic Pacific Theatre of Operations with the 317th Troop Carrier Squadron.
While he was serving his country, his father spotted his son’s future wife at a singing concert and arranged for the two of them to correspond by mail. They met and married after Al returned home from the service.
They lived briefly in Pocatello, Ida., where Al graduated from college, then moved to Washington, D.C.
Al attended George Washington University Law School, where his father had also attended school.
He developed a successful law practice in Washington, D.C., representing radio and televisions stations before the Federal Communications Commission.
He was active in Kiwanis and the Arthritis Foundation, and he served as chancellor of the Delta Theta Phi law fraternity. Through these activities he developed a number of lifelong friendships.
He and LaVonne lived in Chevy Chase, Potomac, and then the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
In the early 1990s they moved to Bainbridge Island to be close to their daughter.
While living on Bainbridge, Al was active in a number of community organizations, including Bainbridge Rotary.
In 2001, he and LaVonne moved to Queen Anne in Seattle to share a home with their daughter and son-in-law.
Because of his larger-than-life personality, he was selected master of ceremonies at many family gatherings, including his mother-in-law Emma’s 100th birthday and his daughter’s marriage in 1999.
He is survived by his wife of 58 years, LaVonne (Horsley); a daughter, Claire Cordon, and a son-in-law, Michael Caryl; and sisters Julie and Rose, of Boise, Idaho, and Beverly (Calvin) Hill, of Pocatello, Ida.
The family will hold an open house to celebrate Al’s life on Saturday June 19.