Gordon Amberg Pfeiffer

Gordon Amberg Pfeiffer passed away peacefully in Springfield, Virginia on February 20, 2025,
at the age of 89. He was bolstered by the fact that the Philadelphia Eagles won the Super Bowl
in the weeks prior to his passing.

Gordon was born on February 28, 1935 to Gustav “Gus” Henry Pfeiffer and Madeline (nee
Amberg) Pfeiffer in Wilmington, Delaware. Gordon was a graduate of Mount Pleasant High
School and received his bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of
Delaware in 1956. He served in the US Army Reserve from 1957 to 1963 in the 390th Civil
Affairs Group. Gordon had a 40-year career in commercial banking that began at Farmers Bank
of the state of Delaware, later Girard Bank and then Mellon Bank, from which he retired as
senior vice president in 1996.

Giving back and sharing for future generations was core to who Gordon was as a person. He
was an officer of numerous organizations including President/Chairman of the Historical Society
of Delaware, the Delaware Humanities Forum and the University of Delaware Library
Associates, among other organizations. In 2012, Gordon was inducted into the University of
Delaware’s Alumni Wall of Fame.

Gordon was an avid Delaware book, postcard, book art, and ephemera collector. His mother, a
graduate of Elmira College and Carnegie Mellon University who worked as a teacher and
librarian passed the love of learning and books to her son. Gordon was an original founder of
the Delaware Bibliophiles in 1977 which also included, among others, his dear friends Robert
“Bob” and Millie Fleck; Nat and Yvonne Puffer; and Andy and Lidia McKay. Gordon
subsequently served as President and Treasurer of the organization. His own collecting
interests included “the influence of William Morris on American printing with special emphasis
on the work of Will Bradley; American publishers’ trade bindings; and Delaware ephemera including broadsides , postcards, and trade cards”

Gordon was the editor of the book “An Anthology of Delaware Papermaking” (1991) and along with Mr. Puffer co-author of “The Delaware Bibliophiles, 1977-2002, a History & Anthology.” His Wilmington postcards were also heavily featured as part of “Wilmington in Vintage Postcards” by Marjorie McNinch. He was also a member of the Grolier Club of New York, the Library Company of Philadelphia and the Book Club of California. Gordon donated substantial portions of his personal collection to libraries, museums and historical societies, including the Gordon A. Pfeiffer Special Collection at the University of Delaware Library.

It was a trip to London that changed Gordon’s life forever where he met his wife Suzanne by
happenstance at Paddington Station (platform 10). Married in Port Huron, Michigan in May 1973
at St. John’s United Church of Christ (founded in part by Suzanne’s grandparents Roy and
Frances Page). Suzanne lost her best friend of over 50 years with his passing. Among his
greatest joys was being a father to Emily (and his son-in-law Heath Weems) and especially
being a grandfather to Cole. It was because of Cole that he left his beloved Delaware to live
closer to his only grandchild. He was always mesmerized by all that Cole knew and wanted to
create, often channeling Gordon’s father Gus who was a (chemical) engineer (as well as a
patents attorney). Emily followed in her dad’s career path also joining the financial services
sector. Gordon furthermore enjoyed being a cat parent and dog grandfather over the years
including to current rescue granddogs Scout and Ryder Weems.

Gordon is also survived by his sister Marilyn “Rusty” Sheridan and her family, including
nephews Jerry duPhily (wife Lindsay) and Ken duPhily (wife Lynn) and niece April Jackson
(husband Rick) and many great nephews and nieces including Sophie and Bowen duPhily that
hold a special place for the Pfeiffer’s. Brother-in-law Steve “Sphene” Harris and his wife June
also survived Gordon and enjoyed his sense of humor and love of history. Chosen family and
friends were just as special to Gordon including those who preceded him in death including
Martin “Marty” Burns (his best man at his wedding), Mr. Fleck, Paul Preston Davis, Tom
Beckman, and those who survived him including Mr. Puffer, Mr. McKay and Steve Beare,
among many others. Tom Doherty of Wilmington, Delaware was a mentee and like a nephew to
Gordon, he succeeded Gordon as President of the Delaware Bibliophiles. Gordon was
preceded in death by his parents Gus and Madeline Pfeiffer, his brother Richard who passed as
an infant and his nephews Mike duPhily and Dwayne duPhily (all of Delaware) and his mother-
in-law Marjorie “Marge” Harris of Michigan.

A celebration of life will be held later this year. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests donations
to entities that were close to Gordon’s heart: The University of Delaware Library, the Emmanuel
Dining Room (Delaware), St. John’s United Church of Christ of Port Huron (Michigan), the
Center for Great Apes (Florida) or the Homeless Animals Rescue Team/HART (Virginia).

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