Woman Who Lived to 105 Left Nearly $10 Million to Community Colleges

Eva Gordon of Seattle was a shrewd investor, buying up stock early in famed north-west companies such as Starbucks, Nordstrom, and Microsoft. She died last year at the ripe old age of 105 and just a month ago her estate just sent 17 community colleges across Washington state each $550,000. Many of the colleges were shocked as it was one of the largest donations the colleges have ever received.

John Jacobs, 61, Gordon’s godson and personal representative for the estate, said, “She was a very intelligent woman, meticulous record keeper, very organized, and had the wherewithal to buy stocks and hold on to them that a lot of people at that age didn’t really do too much.” Surprisingly, though, she never attended college – something she regretted later in life, and regularly donated to and volunteered for children’s and educational programs.

Eva moved to Seattle after high school and worked as a trading assistant at an investment firm before marrying a stockbroker, Ed Gordon, in 1964. The couple was modest and frugal and did not have any children. Her fortune increased in the last few years due to the stocks and she bequeathed virtually all of her money to the community colleges, while a very small portion went to other educational or health entities.

See Hallie Golden, Woman Who Lived to 105 Left Nearly $10M to Community Colleges, The Guardian, December 27, 2019.

Special thanks to Joel C. Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.