Richard Gordon 1942-2014

It is with a heavy heart that the ipd family sadly announces the passing of ipd founder Richard Gordon on Saturday October 18, 2014, at the age of 72 due to complications related to Parkinson's disease. Richard's influence in the Volvo community has impacted the lives of thousands of people, with his visionary approach to treating people the right way and paving the way for people’s passion to be explored. He was admired and loved by all those who had the great privilege of associating with him. His accomplishments were great but his impact on those lives he touched was even greater.

Born in 1942 and raised in the Portland, Oregon area, Richard graduated from Franklin High School in 1960 and that same year, married his high school sweetheart, Judy Herman. Since 1963, Richard was the formidable leader and owner of ipd. With his dedication to customer care and old fashioned values, Richard built not only a company but an environment that fostered love and respect. This career, which suited Richard's passion for Volvos and people, extended into a lifetime of racing Volvos. He passed this legacy onto his children, working side by side with his daughter who helped run ipd and to his son, Robert, who took up racing and continues to race in the car that made history by being the first Volvo to win a professional road race in the United States. To Scott, he entreated his "try anything once" adventurous spirit. Richard's other passions included advocating for small businesses. Richard was a strong political supporter of the core values that built this country. A man of action, Richard had a strong belief in being informed and getting involved. He remained a man dedicated to the pursuit of excellence and he encouraged excellence in others. A man of compassion and grace, Richard had a great sense of humor and brilliant wit with an infectious charm that could make the most distant of strangers smile.

Richard is survived by his devoted wife of 53 years, Judy; sons, Scott and Robert Gordon; daughter, Suzanne "Suzy" (Gordon) Hart of Portland; and granddaughter, Taylor Gordon.

For all of your positive contributions and on behalf of the countless lives you’ve affected, we say thank you to Richard Gordon. You will truly be missed.

In lieu of flowers, the family has asked that memorial contributions be made to the Parkinson's Resources of Oregon in memory of Richard Gordon, 3975 Mercantile Drive, Suite 154, Lake Oswego, OR 97035. For more information, you can reach them at 1-800-426-6806.

Stuart Hockman - Current President of ipd

"Richard Gordon truly was a class act. He was indeed a man of high integrity and morals. I was personally blessed to know him for over 30 years in the auto parts business. I was also privileged to purchase IPD from him with my partners this year.

Richard was very motivated to help his employees become more well-read and educated. As a result, my partners and I will be setting up a Richard Gordon Education Scholarship fund for the children of our employees that are getting good grades, but need some financial assistance towards their college expenses.

I wish his family strength and love during these very difficult times."

After hearing of Richard Gordon passing, Bill Webb asked me (Art Banks) to send this article to ipd and VSA about Richard Gordon. This article appeared in Bill’s Volvo Western States Magazine March/April 2003 issue.

VOLVO WESTERN STATES MAGAZINE

Dedicated To The Preservation and Restoration of Volvo Cars

Richard Gordon - Entrepreneur, Businessman, Race Driver, Visionary and All-Around Good Guy

Portland, Oregon-the location of 28th and Broadway won’t mean much to many, but in December 1963, this is where Richard Gordon, along with Garry Small, opened the doors of ipd. There were no companies specializing in Volvo performance parts or racing equipment.  Ipd started the ball rolling with sway bars, exhaust headers, springs, engines and other trick parts of their own design. The word soon spread as to the quality and durability of their products.    

Richard bought his first Volvo, a 122 in 1967. This led him into auto crossing and he started beating the pants off of cars with racing histories, such as Alfa, BMW and Datsun. In 1968, Richard picked up another 122 from one of their customers that Garry Small had built which was equipped with a hot ipd two liter big-bore engine.

Over the next two years Richard won many awards with this car, including auto cross and Rose Cup races. Between 1970 and 1978, Richard added 12 SCCA titles and two regional championships. Racing was a proving ground of technology for the company.

In 1974, the car was sold and a new 142E took its place. The ipd prepared 142E went on to win numerous races and set track records, including the first professional road race ever for Volvo in North America, the IMSA Champion Spark Plug Challenge at Laguna Seca in 1982.

Richard and his folks at ipd started to receive their share of well-deserved attention. Road and Track magazine wrote an extensive piece on ipd’s performance parts, which was also written up in Car and Driver.

Ipd employees are made up of honest, hard-working Volvo enthusiasts who offer their customers quality products, informative technical advise and how-to instructions.  We salute Richard and the entire ipd organization for 40 years of dedicated to the Volvo community.

Bill Webb Contributing VSA Editor

Richard Gordon

Richard needs no introduction to most of us. Personally, he, his daughter Suzie and son-in-law Scott Hart along with the company he founded were integral parts of every success that we had in our P1800 vintage racing effort. I valued our association greatly.  His name is synonymous with IPD. However equally important is the fact that he won the first professional race in the US driving a Volvo. I distinctly remember writing about the feat in these pages way back in the 80's. I likened it to the US amateur hockey team beating the professional Russian team in the Olympics. The assessment stands.  If fact since his passing, I have tried to recall a racing event that would be analogous. The only one that comes to mind is when Ferrari importer Luigi Chinetti  drove 23 of the 24 Hours of LeMans by himself back in the 50s!

The recent success of the S60s in World Challenge pales in comparison to Richard's IMSA win at Laguna Seca. I have been around road racing for almost fifty years.  In that time I have tried to pay attention to all of the intricacies involved in the sport. My racing career started in 1974. One of the earliest observations was a political structure, hierarchy, or chrony network that existed ( and still does) in the sanctioning body. Long story short is that if you are "in" with the guys running the show your car might be allowed advantages or modifications or the rules may be adjusted for your benefit. I have experienced this first hand so it is not mere speculation.

Rest assured Richard did not benefit from any of this! He drove to victory a heavy, aerodynamic brick against much lighter , sleeker cars, some of which had six cylinder engines.

At the Ocean Race meet in Miami he told me of a time at a race when a competitor used a magnet on his fenders to see if they were fiberglass. I'm sure Richard, being the gentleman he was simply took it as a compliment. After all if you are going so fast that they are convinced that you are cheating then you must be doing just about everything right!

He won using the traits that made him a success in life. Determination, hard work, talent, intelligence and personality.

Godspeed, my friend,
Duane Matejka

We invite all those who feel inclined to share their thoughts and feelings for Richard to do so in the comment section of this blog or to submit your article to info@ipdusa.com.