Gordon Fleming Sandefur
2007
Gordon Fleming Sandefur, a retired lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, died of congestive heart failure June 20 at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. He lived in Oxon Hill.
Col. Sandefur, who worked for the Postal Service between active-duty deployments, was born in Indianapolis and moved to Washington as a child. He was a graduate of  McKinley Tech High School. He worked after school as an usher at Loews Palace Theater, as an advertising copy boy at the old Washington Evening Star and as a batboy for visiting teams at the old Griffith Stadium.
He held a reserve commission in the Army field artillery and worked at Aberdeen Proving Ground while attending night classes at Johns Hopkins University. He volunteered for active duty after Pearl Harbor and served in North Africa, Sicily, Italy and southern France during World War II.
After the war, he began working at the post office in Washington. He volunteered for service during the Korean War and was posted overseas. Returning to reserve status, he resumed his career in the post office until he was reactivated during the Vietnam War. He was airfield commander at Fort Drum, N.Y., until he was released from service in 1969.
He retired as a supervisor from the Postal Service in 1979.
Col. Sandefur loved history and was a member of the Oxon Hill Manor Foundation and the Friends of Belair Estate. He was a duckpin bowler and softball and basketball player, and he enjoyed playing cards, building models and reading.
Survivors include his wife of more than 50 years, Emma Sandefur of Oxon Hill; two daughters, Sarah Sandefur of Bowie and Paula Sandefur of Oxon Hill; and a grandson.