a278  1713  09 Mar 78
AM-Sacrifice,470
Laserphoto SX1
By MEL REISNER
Associated Press Writer
    SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) - A 38-year-old man committed suicide because he
wanted his sister to have one of his kidneys, but he died in vain
because the organ was unusable by the time his body was found, medical
authorities and the man's family said Thursday.
    Melvin S. Gordon, whose sister suffers from kidney disease, shot
himself in the head Wednesday night, investigators said. A note pinned
to his shirt said: ''Get my kidney within one hour.''
    A piece of paper containing the name and address of his wife,
Delores, and the name of his sister, Bertha Overly, also was found on
his body, said Dr. Lois Shanks, Spokane County coroner. Next to Mrs.
Overly's name was the word ''sister,'' circled and underlined.
    Gordon's body was found in his car in the driveway at the emergency
room entrance of Sacred Heart Medical Center, according to hospital
spokesman Mike Heinrich. A discharged patient found Gordon slumped
over the steering wheel of the car several minutes after he died.
    But kidneys must be removed from a person's body at the moment of
death and have to be kept functioning with blood circulation equipment
to avoid tissue deterioration, Heinrich said. Gordon's kidneys were
atrophied by the time his death was reported, he said.
    However, Gordon was carrying a donor's card, and his corneas were
taken for use by a local eye bank.
    Gordon had been depressed recently, partly because of a pending
seasonal furlough from his job as a boilermaker and a one-month leave
of absence he had taken, his wife said Thursday. But she said his
greatest concern was his sister's poor health, and he had said several
times he would give almost anything to help her.
    ''He loved all of his family very much,'' Mrs. Gordon said.
    Mrs. Overly, 42, who lives in Muskegon, Mich., had a kidney
transplant several years ago after both of her kidneys failed. Her
transplanted kidney was donated by another brother, but last fall that
kidney began to fail, and ''her doctors told her it either could
start functioning again or it couldn't,'' said Mrs. Gordon, 35.
    Gordon was examined in January and was told that his kidneys would
be acceptable for transplant if Mrs. Overly needed one, Mrs. Gordon
said. She said Gordon went to visit his sister soon after that
examination and returned to Spokane on March 2.
    On Wednesday, Gordon stopped by his 18-year-old son's apartment and
picked up the .22-caliber rifle which he used to kill himself,
according to Betty Smith, Gordon's sister-in-law. Gordon told his son
he was going to do some target shooting, Mrs. Smith said.
    Gordon had two other teen-age children.
    Mrs. Gordon said she and her family were shocked by Gordon's
suicide, especially since he had been told that Mrs. Overly would need
only one kidney. Both of Gordon's kidneys were functioning fully, and
he might have donated one and remained alive.
    ''We'd have been married 20 years in November,'' Mrs. Gordon said.
''He was always so happy and full of fun.''
    
ap-ny-03-09 2014EST
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a006  2143  09 Mar 78
PM-News Digest,
                              AP NEWS DIGEST
                                Friday PMs
 
    Here are the PMs budgets. The General Desk supervisor is Bill Ahearn
(212-262-6093). The Photo Desk supervisor is Ed Stephens
(212-262-8100).
 
             SOMALIA:             Will Withdraw From Ogaden
 
    MOGADISHU, Somalia - Somali tribesmen in eastern Ethiopia lose their
fight for self-determination as Somalia abandons them under U.S. and
Soviet pressure. Slug PM-Ogaden. Developing.
 
             UNEMPLOYMENT:        A Weather And Coal Strike Toll?
 
    WASHINGTON - After declining for three straight months, the nation's
unemployment rate may be about to show the effects of the long coal
strika an- the 5 parts of the country. Slug
PM-Jobs. Lead expected after 9 a.m. release of jobless data for
February.
 
             COAL STRIKE:         Marshals Serse Back-To-Work Orders
 
    WASHINGTON - As negotiations resume to end the 95-day coal strike,
federal marshals are fanning out into the coalfields with a judge's
order telling the miners to return to work. Slug PM-Coal Strike. New
material, midmorning lead expected.
 
             TRAPPED SUB:         Divers Attempt To Free It
 
    LERWICK, Shetland Islands - Two divers are lowered to the bed of the
North Sea to try to help free a mini-sub trapped 355 feet down with
two men aboard. Slug PM-Sub. Developing, morning leads expected.
 
             MELVIN GORDON:       His Sacrifice Didn't Work
 
    SPOKANE, Wash. - Melvin Gordon was dead only a few minutes before
his body was found, but in those few minutes the purpose in his death
perished as well. Slug PM-Sacrifice. New material, should stand.
 
             FUGITIVE FLIGHT:     Air Canada Refuses
 
    NEW YORK - Six American fugitives wanted for air piracy remain free
in Havana today after Air Canada officials refused to fly the men out
of Cuba for security reasons. Slug PM-Fugitive Flight. New material,
may stand. Laserphoto NY12.
 
             MARIJUANA:           Contaminated With Toxic
 
    WASHINGTON - Some marijuana smuggled into this country has been
found to be contaminated with a highly toxic herbicide sprayed on the
plants under a U.S.-financed drug control program, government tests
show. Slug PM-Marijuana. New, will stand.
 
             BRUCE McLEAN:        Kiss And Tell
 
    SEATTLE - Bruce McLean's job was to kiss and tell. As a citizen vice
agent, he paid for sex with taxpayer money then reported every detail
of what happned to the police. Slug PM-Sex Agents. New, will stand.
 
             COFFEE EXPORTS:      Business As Usual For One Country
 
    SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador - Central American coffee nations agreed
to suspend exports last month but at least one country is doing
business as usual. Slug PM-Coffee. New, should stand.
 
             ROBERT SUNDANCE:     Fights For Street-Corner Drunks
 
    LOS ANGELES - Robert Sundance says he remembers getting drunk when
he was 3. He'd had the DTs by 25 and has spent much of the last 15
years in jail for public drunkenness. Today Sundance returns to court
but this time sober and fighting for the rights of street-corner
drunks. Slug PM-Sundance. New, should stand.
 
             WASHINGTON TODAY:    Mandatory Achievement Tests
 
    WASHINGTON - When the scarecrow showed up asking for brains, the
Wizard of Oz gave him a diploma. That seemed to please him, even
though the wizard was a fake. There's a bit of that flavor in the
controversy over mandatory school achievement tests. Slug
PM-Washington Today. Moved in advance as a079-080 of March 9.
    
ap-ny-03-10 0045EST
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