Mr. Gordon Van Presley Obituary

A Memorial Service for Gordon Van Presley, known to his friends as "Van", will be held at Kimbrell Stern Chapel, Saturday, August 23 at 3:00. Visitation will be Friday night at 6:00 at 1112 Glenview Road and at Kimbrell Stern an hour before the service. Mr. Presley died Thursday, August 7 at Willson Hospice House, following a lengthy illness. He was born in Hempstead, NY to an Air Force family that moved many times. His father was Maj. James Boyd Presley, Jr. of Scottsboro, Ala., and his mother was Margaret Corbett Presley of Deridder, La. He is survived by his wife, Nancy J. Presley of Albany, sons Asa Nathan Leffer and Forrest Elias Leffer of Athens, formerly of Albany, and Corbett Marks Presley, Albany; brothers James Boyd Presley III of Huntsville Ala., Jeff Corbett Presley of Albany, and sister Vivian Presley Gunter of Huntsville; brothers-in-law Chuck Jones of Albany, Elliott Jones of Atlanta, Bill Willson of Atlanta, George Bancroft of Alpharetta; sisters-in-law Bonnie Presley of Huntsville, Susan Willson of Atlanta, Jody Bancroft of Alpharetta, Amy Jones of Albany and Melissa Thurmond of Atlanta; Mother-in-law Jo Elliott Jones, and many nieces and nephews. Mr. Presley graduated from Westover High School in 1971, worked odd jobs to make enough money to drive an old car to Humbolt County, Ca. to study Transcendental Meditation with Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. He was a strong believer in the teachings of Jesus and practiced TM daily the rest of his life. He settled in Albany and worked variously as a garbage man, a butcher, a dog obedience trainer, a land surveyor, a piano technician and a high school math teacher and soccer coach. His brother, Jim, bought Zoellner Music Company and subsequently sold it to Van, who renamed it Albany Keyboard Specialist. Van could singlehandedly move your grandmother's piano out of your attic down three flights of stairs and restore it inside and out. He tuned pianos for many local churches, piano teachers, pianists and visiting stars. He graduated from Darton and earned a degree in Math from Albany State, graduating with the highest grade point average in the department. He went on to earn a Masters Degree in Math Education from Georgia Southwestern and taught math at Dougherty and Westover High Schools, coaching soccer at both schools. A life-long Do-it-Yourselfer, endurance athlete and adventurer, Van Presley was a triathlete, kayaker and a long-distance bicyclist, specializing in centuries (100-mile rides). He was an active member of the Pecan City Pedalers. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to Albany Community Hospice, in gratitude for their kindness and service. We particularly appreciate the home hospice nurses, and our own Leslie Sellers. A life is not measured by its length.

Mr. Gordon Van Presley Obituary

December 19, 1951 - August 7, 2014