Mary Lou Gorman was born on the 8th of August 1945, in Yuma, Colorado. She was the second of three daughters born to Chester Motear West and Ellen Marie Strand West. She was baptized at St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church of Otis by Reverend Lillich with Mary being confirmed by Reverend Ensign in 1959. Mary was raised on the dry land farm northeast of Otis and as such became a very hard worker which was a facet that never left her in 79 years of life. Mary excelled at school with a special affinity for music. She graduated from Otis High School in 1963.
Tragedy struck Mary in 1965 but by the grace of God, she welcomed into the world her daughter, Janet, a few months later. Life was not easy for the single mom but along with the help of her parents and sister Linda as well as Reverend Winterfeld and his darling wife Sharon, she persevered. She worked her way through beautician school in Denver living with her aunt and uncle Edythe and Morris Crocker. In 1966, she was crestfallen when Pastor Winterfeld became a chaplain in the Navy but soon was elated by the newly called Reverend Robert Lee Miller and his dear wife Erika in 1967. So began a friendship that only paused briefly last October but has now resumed.
Mary Lou worked for Loretta Stalling and Evelyn Peters at their hair shops and had many nice customers but she always remembered Stella Glenn, in particular, for her kindness. Around this time, Mary met the love of her life at a party thrown by Sherrie and Sandy Meis and was united in marriage to Edward J. Gorman on November 28, 1970.
John and Mary made their home for over 54 years in the Lone Star community. This union was blessed with two boys, Ed and Bill. Mary was not only the wife of a farmer, but farmed as well. After having fed the kids, she would bring supper to the field, go back home and make sure Janet had Ed and Bill in bed and then she would go out and drive grain truck into the wee hours as long as the wheat or hershey was threshing. Mary also ran the 930 and 5020 tractors and hauled bales with her faithful companions Pat, Cocoa, Annie Mae, Dolly, Molly, Tiny and West Main. Tony, LuLu, Dixie, Jo and Jessi were also among her beloved pets.
As the kids grew and took responsibility on the farm, Mary was able to ease back a bit but was still very busy with raising turkeys and fryers, taking care of the laying hens, gardening, canning, freezing, and yard work. Mary’s natural green thumb meant neighbors were given bushels of vegetables over the years; and as a baker, she gave them dozens upon dozens of homemade cookies as well. She also continued her involvement at St. Paul playing the organ in the 1960s, making homemade noodles for the Ladies Aid Christmas Bazaar, singing in the choir, and working and cooking for funeral, Lion’s Club, and covered dish dinners and suppers at the church. Mary Lou also worked for Dorothy Eastin, catering many parties over the years. She curled and set her Mom and Mother-in-law hair every week for years and continued to give John and Bill haircuts into the mid 2000s as well as trading perms with Donna Moran.
John and Mary were big boosters of the Lone Star School whether it was attending plays, music concerts, ball games, tearing it up on the dance floor for Homecoming or the Alumni, being sponsors on field trips, or working the Halloween Carnival. Mary Lou’s reputation for being sublime as a cook was evidenced by the fact that she was watched like a hawk as she carried her dishes into the cafeteria for potluck suppers at the school. Her huge mustard yellow kettle, which became famous, was always emptied first. Mary’s homemade cinnamon rolls, no matter how large of a batch she made, never lasted long around the house and her apricot jam, wild plum jelly, and peach-pit jelly were simply perfect. In the early 90s, Mary was asked to supply cakes for the birthdays of the faculty and staff of Lone Star and to this day, her Carrot cakes, German Chocolate cakes and Angel’s Food cakes are remembered fondly. She had a brief stint as assistant cook at Lone Star but the cement floors coupled with all the years of hard work started taking their toll. Although she never fully retired, Mary did slow up to enjoy her grand and great grand kids and to take care of her ailing Mom and Mother-in-law.
On April 9, 2025 as Mary slept, her Lord and Savior took her hand and together they walked home in total triumph.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Chet and Ellen West; Father- and Mother-in-law, Virgil and Cecelia Gorman, older sister Sharon Kay, and brothers-in-law Irvin Gorman, Larry Gorman, and Chet Gebauer.
Mourning her passing is her husband John; her children Janet (Aaron), Ed (Karen) and Bill; granddaughters Jenna (Brandon) and Shena (Kyle), grandsons Joel and Garrett (Cody); great granddaughters Quinn, Hagen, Hadlee, and Harlyn; sister Linda Gebauer, sister-in-law Karen Gorman and many cousins, nieces, and nephews throughout the country as well as many friends in the Lone Star community, Otis, and Yuma.
The funeral service will be held Maundy Thursday, April 17, 2025, at 10:30am at St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church in Otis, Colorado, officiated by Reverend Jamie Strickler. Inurnment will be at a later date at the Yuma Cemetery with arrangements made by the Baucke Funeral Home.