Elizabeth was born on April 20, 1930, in Chicago, Illinois, to Dr. Harry T. and Edith L. (Dulin) Morton. At age 5 she moved to Kansas City, Missouri with her family where she attended Southeast High School and graduated from the Ursuline Academy in Paola, Kansas at the age of 16.
Inspired by visits to see her dad, a retired Army surgeon who served as City Physician with an office at Armour Meats in the KC Stockyards, and her mother who was payroll clerk at General Hospital, Elizabeth enrolled in nursing school at General Hospital in Kansas City. While there, she made some lifelong friendships as she completed her studies to become a Registered Nurse. Upon completing nursing school, she served as a nurse in several hospitals across the country including in Denver, Colorado and in a polio ward in Los Angeles, California.
Elizabeth's esteemed career in health care included leading the emergency department at Menorah Medical Center as night charge nurse for over 30 years where she was well respected for her leadership and composure in a chaotic and highly charged medical emergency environment. In 1990, at age 60, she was recruited to launch and run a new telephone triage program “ask-a-nurse call line” for Children’s Mercy Hospital. She continued to build upon and improve this important groundbreaking program until retiring in 1995. Even in retirement she broke new ground in “remote work” when she was asked if she could take some occasional night call shifts from her home during periods of low staffing or inclement weather. She was always a compassionate nurse who advocated for her family and her patients with fierce passion for what she felt to be in their best interests.
Elizabeth was also a voracious reader who consumed information from newspapers, magazines, and medical journals, always in search of information that she could learn and share with her friends and family to provide advice on improving their health and quality of life. She was kind, thoughtful and wise, a good listener, and a trusted neighbor, friend, mom, or grandma with whom you could spend hours on the phone or visiting in person.
Elizabeth had a green thumb and could grow and nurture the same house plants for decades and loved potting a summer patio garden producing fresh vegetables to be enjoyed by her children and grandchildren for whom she loved to cook and make snacks. She cherished gathering and spending time with her family and close friends.
Elizabeth was married to Robert L. Gorman, of Wentworth, Missouri, from 1956 to 1976 with whom she raised seven loving children and shared 15 grandchildren and 1 great grandson. She had deep faith and was a devout Christian who baptized her children in and regularly attended the Episcopal Church. She grew to love listening to and sharing the messages of Pastor Dr. Charles Stanley once it became too difficult to attend church in person.
Elizabeth was preceded in death by her parents; three sisters: Mary, Ruth, Priscilla; one brother: David; and her ex-husband Robert. She is survived by her and Robert’s children: Robert L. Gorman, Jr. and wife Joyce of Wauwatosa, WI, David H. Gorman and wife Donna of Wichita, KS, Rebecca L. Nielsen and husband Adam of Overland Park, KS, James T. Gorman and wife Cathy of Malvern, PA, John M. Gorman and wife Suzie of Shawnee, KS, Jeffrey J. Gorman of Cape Coral, FL, Lisa C. Spoonhour and husband Stephen of Overland Park, KS,15 adoring grandchildren and great-grandson, her devoted sister Martha Ziegler of Kansas City, MO and dozens of loving and caring nieces and nephews.
A Visitation for Elizabeth will be held Tuesday, May 31, 2022, from 12:00pm to 1:00pm at Mt. Moriah, Newcomer & Freeman Funeral Home, 10507 Holmes Road, Kansas City, Missouri 64131. A Memorial Service will follow at 1:00pm. A Committal Service will follow at 2:00pm in Mount Moriah Cemetery South.
Memorial contributions in honor of Elizabeth may be made in her name to:
● The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis by visiting: themiamiproject.org/donate/
● Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation by visiting: jdrf.org
● Kansas City Hospice House by visiting: kchospice.org/donation/
