- Date Of Birth: August 11, 1936
- Date Of Death: September 24, 2013
- State: Florida
Gordon Link of New Smyrna Beach, Florida, passed away Tuesday, September 24, 2013. He was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease) in April, 2013. He was born in New York City and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1958 where he was a member of the Sphinx Society, the senior honor society, president of the junior class, and manager of the Penn varsity football team. He was a life-long Penn football fan.
Gordon spent his career in advertising, starting as a trainee at BBD&O in 1959. After five years at Ogilvy & Mather, he joined McCann-Erickson where he was named vice president and account supervisor for Coca-Cola. He was integral in the development and implementation of the Coca-Cola campaign “It’s the Real Thing.
In 1984, Gordon was enticed back to McCann-Erickson as Executive V.P. and Director of McCann-Erickson Worldwide Media. He was commonly referred to in the press as the “Dean of worldwide media.” He spent 9 years overseeing 117 agencies in 63 countries. He loved to regale family and friends with real-life “Mad Men” stories.
In 1993 Gordon retired to West Cornwall, CT, and then to New Smyrna Beach, Florida in 1999. During his retirement, he became an avid oil painter winning numerous awards.
Gordon is survived by his loving wife of 30 years, Susan, and by his three daughters, Helen Egger, MD, Durham, NC (husband Daniel Egger), Jennifer Fernald Link, MA, New Smyrna Beach, FL, and Katherine Link, MD, Northampton, MA. He is also survived by six grandchildren, Rebecca, Sasha, Leo, and Oliver Egger, and Maggie and James White.
