Arthur Gordon, writer and magazine editor, dead at 89

SAVANNAH - Arthur Gordon, a former editor of Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan and Guidepost magazines and the author of 14 books, has died at his Savannah home. He was 89. <br> <br> Gordon, who died in his sleep Friday, also was a contributing writer for Reader&#39;s Digest, Esquire, Collier&#39;s, Saturday Evening Post, McCall&#39;s and Redbook. <br> <br> Gordon was a member of one of Savannah&#39;s most prominent families. His aunt was Juliette Gordon Low, who started the Girl Scouts, and his great-grandfather William Washington Gordon founded the Central of Georgia Railroad. <br> <br> A Yale University graduate and a Rhodes scholar, Gordon started at Good Housekeeping reading unsolicited poetry in 1935 and became managing editor within five years. <br> <br> He served in World War II from 1940 to 1945. During the war, he wrote the unsigned book ``Target Germany.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> He worked for Hearst Corp. from 1945 to 1948 as editor of Cosmopolitan, which published mostly fiction at the time. He returned to Savannah to write the suspense novel ``Reprisal,&#39;&#39; which was published in 1950. <br> <br> In 1958, Gordon published ``Minister to Millions,&#39;&#39; a biography of motivational writer Norman Vincent Peale. Through Peale, Gordon became a writer for Guidepost and served as its editor from 1974 to 1981. <br> <br> He is survived by his wife, Pamela Gordon; nine children; a sister; and 13 grandchildren. <br> <br> A funeral will be held Monday at 2 p.m. at Christ Episcopal Church. Burial will be private.