Gordon Joseph McKinnon Jr. 84, of Rochester, Minnesota died on August 30, 2021 surrounded by his family.

Beloved husband, father, and grandfather, strong Catholic, 16 year stage four lung cancer survivor, army veteran, morale booster, storyteller, lover of beefeaters gin, birding, any and all card games except Phase10, NYT crosswords, Monty Python, choosing Jesuit schools for March Madness, and all things involving the Detroit Tigers and Red Wings.

Born and raised in Detroit, Michigan, in 1962 he was recruited by IBM in Endicott NY after attending University of Detroit and serving three years in the army. He worked for IBM Rochester as a programmer and continuing education coordinator until he retired in 1992.

In 1963, He married the love of his life, Norma, then moved to Rochester, Minnesota to raise a family. His proudest moment mentioned in his last days was raising three loving children.

In 1995, they retired to White Iron Lake in Ely, Minnesota until his 2005 cancer diagnosis brought them back to Rochester.

Survived by his wife, Norma, children Heather Fitzgerald (Francis), Chrissie McKinnon (Rich Jopp), Donald McKinnon (Emily), and grandchildren, Clark, George, and James McKinnon.

Funeral service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, September 11, 2021 in the River Park Chapel at Macken Funeral Home. Visitation will be one hour prior to the service.

Gord was always available to have a good time, and was appreciated and loved by all who knew him. Raise a glass in his honor and say "Cin-cin!"

Please make charitable donations to

Mayo Clinic Cancer Research

Parkinson.org

St. Jude Children's Hospital