John Raymond Gorman

Ray was born in Beaumont, Texas on the 15th of May 1934, the third of four sons of the late Pauline Crowl Gorman and William Gorman. The family moved to Port Arthur, Texas in 1940, where Ray spent most of his formative years. Known for athleticism and a love for the outdoors, Ray enjoyed fishing in nearby waterways as well as playing a variety of sports, excelling in golf, basketball, track, and football. Ray attended Thomas Jefferson High School in Port Arthur, where he played varsity football for the Yellow Jackets as well as basketball and track. Like his three other brothers, Ray did very well scholastically and, following graduation from high school in January 1953, was accepted to The Rice Institute (now Rice University) in Houston. Ray moved to Houston in the fall of 1953 to begin studies at Rice, where he made a host of lifelong friends. He graduated from Rice in 1957 with a degree in Accountancy and, shortly thereafter, passed the examinations required to become a Certified Public Accountant.

Ray began his career as an auditor for Peat Marwick, then later worked for Anderson Clayton and, in 1963, joined Union Texas Petroleum, where he worked in a series of roles of increasing responsibility until his retirement in 1991. He then worked part-time in a financial management / information technology role for a start-up Presbyterian church in Houston until retiring for good in 1996.

Besides work, Ray was always actively involved in the community, whether serving as an election precinct chair, volunteering his services with the Sharpstown Civic Association and, later, the Memorial Thicket HOA, or being involved in various ways with his beloved Rice University.

Most important to Ray, though, was his family. Ray married his high school sweetheart, Betty Merrill, on Valentine’s Day 1959, and they went on to have two children, John and Susan. Though his brothers and their families lived in various parts of the country, they kept close by writing each other frequently, visiting each other and their parents as much as possible, and organizing enjoyable and truly memorable family reunions, whether in Houston, Colorado, Bandera, Savannah, or Tennessee.

Ray is preceded in death by his parents and by his brothers, Bill, George, and David; sisters-in-law Alice, Joan, and Mary Ann; sister-in-law Sue Jackson and her husband Ed; and infant granddaughter Emma Elizabeth Gorman. He is survived by his devoted wife of 62 years, Betty; his son John and daughter-in-law Zana; and his daughter Susan, all of Houston; and a host of nieces and nephews and their respective families.

The family wishes to sincerely thank the staff of Eagle’s Trace and Silverado Hospice for the wonderful care they provided Ray in his final weeks.

The family will not have a memorial service but would welcome and appreciate those who would like to share memories of Ray and offer words of comfort and condolence to do so via the "add a memory" option below. For those who wish to make memorial contributions in Ray’s honor, the family requests with gratitude that they be designated to the Rice Annual Fund – Undergraduate Scholarships Fund at Rice University. These gifts may be made online at giving.rice.edu or mailed to Rice University, Office of Development MS-81, P.O. Box 1892, Houston, TX 77251-1892.