Gordon Bliss Childs passed away in Orem, Utah on May 2, 2023 surrounded by his loved ones. Gordon was born in Springville, Utah on October 22, 1927 to Eleanor and Bliss Gudmundson Childs.

Gordon devoted his entire career to music. He graduated from Brigham Young University with a Masters degree in music in 1953. He received a Doctorate in music education from the University of Montana in 1976.

Gordon played the violin, viola, and viola d'amore and performed in hundreds of concerts and other musical events either as a soloist, or as part of a small ensemble, or as a member of an orchestra, or as an orchestra conductor.

In the 1950's he taught high school orchestras in Milford, Utah; Pocatello, Idaho; and Missoula, Montana. While he was in Missoula, he also taught music at the University of Montana. In the 1960's and 1970's Gordon was a music professor at Adams State College in Alamosa, Colorado. In the 1980's he was a music professor at the University of Wyoming.

After retiring to Orem, Utah in 1993, Gordon was the conductor of the American Fork Symphony from 1994 to 2002. He then became an assistant conductor of the New Horizons Orchestra sponsored by Brigham Young University from 2002 to 2020. The New Horizons Orchestra is for older adults, both those with no musical experience and those who played in school music programs, who want to play a stringed instrument.

Gordon was also a world-renowned expert on the viola d'amore, a viola-like instrument with fourteen strings that was popular in the 17th and 18th centuries and is still played today. He was a member of the International Viola d'amore Society and was active in the congresses of that society both in the United States and in Europe. He hosted two of those congresses in Utah.

Gordon married his sweetheart, Elaine Finlayson, on March 1, 1951. She passed away in 2012. Gordon is survived by four siblings: Douglas Childs (Karma), Gerry Childs (Colleen), Diane Chipman, and Jane Schofield, and by his two children, Larry Childs (Geniel) and Leslie Wilson (Howard), as well as his five grandchildren, their spouses, and his eighteen great-grandchildren.

Gordon loved God and was a member of the House of Aaron. His kindness and generosity to those in need was a hallmark of his life.

Gordon's funeral service will be held on Monday, May 15 at 11:00 a.m. at the Heatheridge 1st Ward Chapel at 620 Heather Road, Orem, Utah with a viewing before the funeral from 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Another viewing will be held on Sunday, May 14 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. at the Walker Sanderson Funeral Home at 646 E 800 N, Orem, Utah.

Interment will be at the Orem City Cemetery at 1520 N 800 E, Orem, Utah immediately after the funeral service.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to: Espere Community Counseling (https://www.esperecounseling.org/donate), a mental health service in Haiti founded by Gordon's granddaughter Erika Childs Charles.