Aglaya GORMAN

GORMAN, Aglaya 88, of Gulfport, passed away in the early hours of March 7, 2013, attended by her loving family. She was born Aglaya Constantinovna Shteppa, May 30, 1924, in Kiev, Russia, former USSR, now Ukraine, where her parents were university professors. During WWII, she and her family escaped from the USSR to Germany, where she lived for eight years. While in Oberammergau, Germany, she met a handsome young GI, William "Bill" Gorman, of Grand Rapids, Mich., whom she married in 1952 after she came to the United States. Aglaya moved to Florida after Bill's passing in 1989. She became active in several organizations, including the local Russian Club and SPIFFS. Aglaya wrote a book, "A Choice Between Two Evils", where she vividly described her experiences of growing up in the Soviet Union and the difficulties of surviving WWII. She is survived by her daughters, Mary Stenov; Patricia Gorman; Ellen Gorman-Martinez; Victoria Leptourgos; son, Eugene Gorman; grandchildren, Mark and Elizabeth Stenov; Benjamin & Jeanette Bowles; Nicholas, Andreas, and Alexis Leptourgos; Holly and Pamela Gorman; and Eric, Michael, Jessica, and Matthew Gorman; and great-grandchildren Noah and Ella Stenov. Her youngest son, Dan, died in a tragic vehicular accident in 2011; this incident broke her heart. Family was always the most important part of her life. Panahida will be held at 6 pm today March 8, at St. Andrew's Russian Orthodox Church, 6465 54th Ave. N, St. Petersburg., where funeral services will follow on Saturday March 9th at 10am. Guestbook at davidcgross.com David C. Gross Funeral Homes 6366 Central Ave. 727-381-4911