Gordon T. Carey, a retired Army lieutenant colonel who served during the Korean and Vietnam wars, will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery with full military honors at 1 p.m. June 19.
The former Chevy Chase resident, who died Feb. 12 of congestive heart failure at the Austin Heart Hospital in Austin, Texas, was 81.
Born on a farm in Nash County, N.C., his family moved to Baltimore County when he was 7. He lived in the Essex-Middle River area along with his parents, Paul and Pearl Carey, and four siblings. He was a Boy Scout and worked as a newspaper carrier for the Baltimore News-Post and Sunday American before joining the Maryland National Guard at 17.
When he worked at a drugstore lunch counter in the 1940s, he once served a milkshake in a glass cup to a black person. He stayed employed there only two days, after his supervisor told him to only serve black people in paper cups, according to Crete Strawhecker Carey, his wife of 26 years.
He graduated from Kenwood High School in 1950 and attended the University of Maryland for two years before enlisting — the beginning of a 22-year military career. He later graduated from the University of Nebraska.
He was a fixed wing and helicopter pilot, garnering more than 800 hours of combat flight, including during the Korean War, as well as three tours in Vietnam. In 1970, he was awarded the Silver Star.
After retiring from the military in 1972, he entered the real estate management business in Maryland, Virginia and Washington, D.C. He began at Colquitt Carruthers, where he became a regional manager and chief operating officer. He later worked at Merrill Lynch and Coldwell Banker before retiring in 2004.
He was a member of the Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Association and Siena Military Veterans Association. He volunteered with military veterans groups to help disabled veterans and others in need, his wife said, and always made time to attend his children's swim meets, soccer games and tennis matches.
"He was a very kind, loyal, intelligent gentleman who was liked by most anyone he met," Mrs. Carey said. "He was a leader and hard-working person."
In addition to his wife, he is survived by his son, Mark G. Carey of North Carolina; two stepdaughters, Holly Helms and Lauren Langis, both of Texas; his brother, Anthony Carey of South Carolina; two sisters, Ruth Carey Swanstrom and Shirley Carey Burdeaux, both of Maryland; and three grandchildren. He was previously married to the late Mary R. Smith.