Stevenson High School fencing coach remembered as willing to help anyone in need

LINCOLNSHIRE – Delbert "Gordon" Gandy coached fencing for more than 30 years, including the Adlai E. Stevenson High School team for more than a decade.

Gandy died Tuesday after he was struck by a vehicle while he was trying to help a woman whose car had rolled over.

Fernando Delgado, the head fencing coach for Stevenson, was not surprised Gandy intervened.

"Gordy died doing what he always tried to do – helping someone in need,” Delgado said in a statement. “He will be truly missed.”

While coaching students at Stevenson from 2003 to 2016, Gandy helped fencers advance in the sport and grow in their appreciation of it, according to a news release from the high school. He also coached fencing through the Crimson Blades Fencing Academy in Libertyville, the College of Lake County in Grayslake and the Bristol Renaissance Faire in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

Gandy served in the U.S. Marine Corps as well as serving as a police officer in Joliet.

There will be a celebration of Gandy's life from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Wednesday at the American Legion Post 294, 212 Washington St., Morris. Burial will be at 2 p.m. Wednesday in Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery, 20953 Hoff Road, Elwood.

Gandy's relatives could not be reached for comment.