John Gorman, died at his home surrounded by his family, hospice, and much love. He was 5 days short of his 80th birthday.

A funeral service will be held at 10:00 am, on Saturday, April 13, 2024, at St. Mary Catholic Church in Grinnell. A rosary will be held prior to the service beginning at 9:00 am.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be designated to St. Mary Catholic Church and mailed in care of the Smith Funeral Home and Crematory, PO Box 368, Grinnell, IA 50112. Memories and condolences may be shared with John's family online at www.smithfh.com.

Known as Jack to family and friends, he was born on April 8, 1944, in Waterloo IA. His father, James Leo, and mother, Catherine Eleanor (Gill) Gorman figured that they got it right the first time as he is their only. Jack grew up on the farm in rural LaPorte City, IA and enjoyed being the "only "nephew of several bachelor uncles.

His enjoyment of vehicles began early as he may have borrowed the family pick up to drive to visit these uncles down the road, at the tender age of 8. Giving his mom and dad a coronary, and uncles a GREAT laugh and years of teasing material. It was a different time.

Jack's catholic faith and love of Jesus was central in his life. He attended catholic elementary, graduated from St. John Bosco High School, then Loras for his undergraduate degree, and his MBA from St Ambrose. He participated in different ministries in the church over the years. All this time advancing in wisdom, age, and goodness. Friends often turned to him to be the DD, or drive them to different activities.

While in college at Loras, his dad introduced him to the Knights of Columbus organization, in Waterloo, IA. His KC journey began. He has participated since and served in different capacities, including Grand Knight with the Grinnell St. Mary chapter. During this tenure, the State of Iowa KC 's honored the Grinnell chapter with youth of the year for 2 consecutive years, Family of the Year, and Chaplain of the year.

On the road of life, Jack was married and from this union he was blessed with two sons, Brian and Dan. They made their home in Tripoli, IA. His giving to the community continued as he served as the school board president for many years. He also performed yearly in the community musical fundraiser for the fine arts department at THS.

He loved to sing which he did very well. He had the lead as a senior in his high school musical. He also sang in the choir and as a background singer/body guard for Tripoli's Elvis. That was a fun adventure enjoyed by all. It may have required a DD, which he did.

Besides his love of music, Jack was an avid golfer. He played well and even had a hole in one. He served his turn as president of the association at Maple Hills CC. Enjoying lifelong friendships and new ones that continued to grow.

Connections and friends grew throughout his professional career with 40+ years as a claims adjuster and manager. Mutual of Omaha and Grinnell Mutual both provided professional adventures, working with people and their loss/difficulties. He augmented his career with insurance certifications of CPCU and AIC.

As life took hard turns, Jack remained steadfast to his faith. He also remained family centered and kept Jesus there as he navigated single parent activities with his sons.

When he met Vickie, who was also steadfast in faith and single parenting, they knew it was a blessing. They eventually celebrated New Year's Eve with "I Do's" and began to blend their families. The blessings continued with the children adding spouses and then grandchildren.

Jack is survived by his wife, children and spouses, and grandchildren.