[4][5] As her husband was walking to the City Hall with people crowding around him, he was shot in the head by an operative of the opposition.
[citation needed] After her husband's death, Olongapo residents petitioned Gordon to stand for election.
[citation needed] After her term in office, she continued her life of service in the private sector, advocating the protection and promotion of the welfare of needy and abandoned children, legally adopting fifty-four children as her own, changing the lives of thousands as the founder of the Olongapo Boys Town and Girls Home.
[citation needed] She founded several other civic organizations such as the Olongapo City Civic Action Group (OCAG), the Iba-Olongapo Catholic Women's League (IOCWL), and the Olongapo City Red Cross (OCRC) where she also served as Chairperson for twenty-eight years.
[citation needed] She was Former assemblywoman of the 1984 Batasang Pambansa and recipient of The Pearl S. Buck International Woman of The Year Award in 2002, only the second Filipina to receive such, for her accomplishments in her civic and humanitarian endeavor.