Wedding party reunion surprise for honorary degree recipient

By Kelly Foss | May 29, 2015

A unique reunion took place backstage following the Tuesday, May 27, afternoon convocation ceremony at Memorial University.

Dr. Mary Gordon, who received a honorary doctor of laws degree at the 3 p.m. session, was surprised with a re-enactment of her wedding photo from May 1971.  

Dr. Paris Georghiou, a honorary research professor with the Department of Chemistry, co-ordinated the wedding party reunion, along with Dr. Gordon’s sister, Susan Dyer Knight, chancellor of Memorial University.

“I first met Mary when I was a graduate student in Montreal,” said Dr. Georghiou. “I became friends with Mary's future husband, Keith, when we were classmates at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa. He was one of the first people I got to meet because we both had last names that began with the letter G.”

The pair remained friends throughout their four-year honours program in chemistry at Witwatersrand and stayed in touch after Dr. Georghiou went to McGill University and Dr. Gordon to the University of Toronto for their respective graduate studies in 1967.

Dr. Georghiou was best man at Mr. Gordon’s wedding on May 19, 1971. While there he met Dr. Gordon’s sister, Dr. Dyer Knight. Of course, at the time, neither knew they would both end up involved with the same university.

“This honorary doctorate presentation is a wonderful closing of the loop, because I don't think the four of us have ever been quite in the same formal pose since the wedding,” said Dr. Georghiou. “It’s a thrill to be able to do it again, this time with our gowns at convocation.”


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