Friday, December 6, 2024 | 11:00 AM

Helen Patricia “Pat” Gorman, née Rowan, of Edina, formerly of Chicago, IL, passed away peacefully on November 24, 2024. She was preceded in death by her beloved husband, John A. “Jack” Gorman; her sister, Mary "Honey" Rowan and her parents, Agnes and Patrick J. Rowan.

Pat is survived by her devoted sons, John A. Gorman Jr. of Kyoto, Japan, and Patrick T.R. Gorman (Theresa) of Madison, New Jersey. She was a loving and proud grandmother to Jack, Finn, and Kate Gorman of Madison, NJ. Pat’s warmth, kindness, sense of humor and unyielding love for her family impressed all who knew her and she will be deeply missed.

Pat was a trailblazer. In the 1950s when career paths for women were limited, she became a flight attendant for Eastern Airlines. In the 1970s, she studied Hatha Yoga and went on to become an in demand community education instructor across the southern suburbs. In the 1980s, after the Supreme Court ruled against gender discrimination, she fought for and regained the position at Eastern Airlines she had been forced to resign upon marriage. Widowed at an early age, Pat’s greatest pride was her family. In her sons and grandchildren, she encouraged a strong appreciation of their Irish roots, a desire to explore other cultures, and a strong hope to make the world a better place.

Visitation will be at 10:00 AM, followed by a Mass of Christian Burial. Interment will follow at Resurrection Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be made to the Foundation to Advance Vascular Cures for research into cures for Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD).