Gordon Maury Kingman (1920- 2016) was born in Washington, D.C.. During WWII, he served in the U.S. Navy as a self-taught Electronics Engineer. Maury had a gift for linguistics, was fluent in French, and could read several languages. He was a 65-year member of the Masonic Lodge as a Master Mason. He was also a great lover of classical music and played guitar and violin.

In his retirement years in California, he made over 30 violins and bows. Maury passed away in Keswick, VA in 2016.