Zachary David Gordon

March 5, 1959 – September 2, 2026

Our beloved Zachary David Gordon, 67, of Hilton Head Island, SC, went home to be with his Lord on September 2, 2026 after a sudden but brief illness.

A service celebrating his life will be held at September 15 at 2 PM at Christian Renewal Church in Hilton Head Island, SC.

Zac was born in New York, NY, to Sylvia Stein and Arthur Gordon. He was raised with tremendous love by his foster parents, Abraham and Theresa Bergstein, and later by Doreen Brand, who together gave him the foundation of family he carried and cherished his whole life. Though no blood tie bound them, their love shaped everything he became — his faith, his resilience, and his enormous capacity to love others. He spoke of them always with deep gratitude.

For nearly forty years, Zac poured himself into community planning, guiding the growth of towns across New Hampshire, Rhode Island, North Carolina, and finally South Carolina, where he served as Planning Director of Hilton Head Island. He held a Bachelor's from SUNY Oneonta and a Master's in Regional Planning from Cornell, and began his career working for the Lieutenant Governor of New York — a chapter he loved to tell stories about. He built departments from scratch, won statewide recognition for his long-range plans, mentored young planners as an adjunct professor at UNC Charlotte, and was known across his field as a visionary who turned ideas into thriving communities.

Above all, Zac was a lover of Jesus and a shepherd of people. He earned a degree in Theology from Zion Bible Institute and pastored East Side Christian Fellowship in Providence, RI. He remained a devoted student and teacher of Scripture his whole life, always ready with a well-timed word of wisdom for his children.

An athlete at heart, he played collegiate lacrosse at SUNY Oneonta and kept up a lifelong love of running — a passion he shared with his daughter Shayna. He never met a dessert he didn't feel he'd earned, and his family lovingly remembers him as their "energizer bunny," endlessly full of life.

He was preceded in death by his brother, Leonard Bergstein.

Zac is survived by his treasured wife of 38 years, Lisa; his children, Shayna, Hannah, Kayla, and Noah; sons-in-law Mitch and Brandon; grandson Leon; brother Arthur Gordon; and sisters Claudia Horner, Harriet Hirschfield (and her husband Jeff), and Marilyn Fink.