Marriage · Work · Family
The life they built together
Two people building a home, making education a priority, and creating traditions their family still carries.
Their shared life was made of work as well as celebrations. The family remembers Brigetta’s hairdressing, sewing, care, and hospitality alongside Gordon’s changing career. Their daughters and later generations became part of that continuing story.
Family recollection
Making room for the next generation
Neither Brigetta nor Gordon had a college education, according to the family account, but they made their daughters’ education a priority.
Brigetta was also adapting to life in a new country with limited English while beginning a family. The family recalls her later traveling back to Germany with three daughters under four—a detail they remember as an example of her capability and determination.
Family recollection
Work that carried forward
The family recalls Gordon advancing through the federal savings-and-loan industry to a vice-president role. When that industry collapsed, he turned to brokering loans and real estate, and later founded an appraisal business.
Their daughter Nicki joined the business and, according to the family’s account, continues to run it with Jes working alongside her. Company names, dates, and each person’s preferred account of their work remain to be gathered.
Family recollection
Where spouses became family
After Tim and Nicki married in 1985, Gordon and Brigetta invited them to dinner nearly every weekend. Nicki’s two sisters and their husbands often joined them.
Gordon was remembered for prime rib, a technique he passed to their youngest daughter, Jacki. Brigetta created the elegant and distinctive settings. Together, the food and the table became the backdrop to an invitation that meant more than dinner: a place in the family.
Family recollections, with separately cited historical context. Individual biographical and service details remain open to family verification.
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