John R. Gorman M.D.

John R. Gorman, M.D.

Dr. John Rossier Gorman, 85, of Stafford County passed away Thursday, Feb. 7, 2013, at Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center.

Dr. Gorman, born in Los Angeles, Calif., to John M. Gorman DMD and Matilda Rossier, grew up in Emporia, Kan. He always lived larger than life, beginning in his youth. He learned to fly before he had a driver's license. He was a football and basketball star at Emporia High School. He attended the University of Kansas for one year, playing basketball and football. He graduated from Emporia State College and received his medical doctorate at the University of Kansas, after being drafted into the U.S. Army from 1945 to 1947. He married Dorothy McDonnell from Kansas City in 1953. He was a flight surgeon in the Air Force from 1954 to 1961. While stationed in Germany, he learned to race cars, starting with a Mercedes-Benz 300SL. He was in private practice in Lake Oswego, Ore., from 1965 to 1979. He then served in the U.S. Navy as a flight surgeon from 1979 to 1986 and retired as a commander. He then worked at the Fredericksburg Emergi-Care Center until his retirement in 2007. He was a fourth-degree Knight for the Knights of Columbus. He was a member of a bagpipe and drum corps in Portland, Ore., and in Hawaii. Dr. Gorman was a deeply religious man with a wonderful Irish sense of humor.

Survivors include his wife of 59 years, Dottie M. Gorman; daughter Alexandra Carney; sons John and Brian Gorman; eight grandchildren; and sister Mary Lou Lane. He was predeceased by daughter Mary C. Gorman.

The family will receive friends from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 10, at Covenant Funeral Service, Fredericksburg. A rosary service will be held at 4:30 p.m. The Knights of Columbus will have a retirement ceremony for John following the rosary service.

A funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:30 a.m. Monday, Feb. 11, at St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception in Fredericksburg. The Knights of Columbus will be in attendance. Interment will be at a later date in Mount Calvary Catholic Cemetery in Portland, Ore.

Online guest book is at covenantfuneralservice.com.