John Leonard Gorman

John Leonard Gorman, a third generation Houstonian, went to be with the Lord on September 20, 2025 at the age of 84.
John is survived by his loving bride, Mary Louise "Cookie" (née Taschler); his five children, Jennifer and Greg Germani, John and Ann Marie Gorman, Allison Botard, Theodore and Margeaux Gorman and Tracy and Paul Galloway; his nineteen grandchildren, Erin and Carter Dowd, Justin and Katy Germani, Kathryn and Scott Mitchell, Renee and JJ Strnad, Andrew Gorman, Matthew Gorman, Angela Gorman, Natalie Gorman, William Botard, Luke Botard, Dominic Botard, Olivia Botard, Meara Gorman, Teddy Gorman, John B. Gorman, Sebastian Gorman, Louis Gorman, Colin Galloway, and Alex Galloway; his 3 great grandchildren Blake and Colette Germani, and Maeve Mitchell; his sister Ruth and John Fischer; and his brother Michael and Cindy Gorman; and many nieces and nephews.
John was preceded in death by his parents, his brother Tommy and sisters Elizabeth Chaput and Eileen Musgrove.
John was born April 5, 1941 to John T. and Helen E. Gorman. Rooted in his strong faith and Catholic education, after graduating from St. Vincent de Paul and St. Thomas High School, John entered the seminary, and spent his novitiate year in Toronto. He ultimately decided his calling was to be a loving husband and father, and he married Cookie after graduating from the University of St. Thomas. John started his career as a history teacher at Lamar High School and spent many years as a Swim Coach. In 1970, John switched careers and went into the insurance industry working for Jas J. Braniff. He was a successful claims manager and retired from Arthur J. Gallagher after 42 years.
John and Cookie had five children, who were the light of John's eyes and his proudest accomplishments. He spent many years present on the sidelines of their sporting events, and this carried into his love for his grandchildren as well, as he traveled the US and the world to see them compete. A huge baseball fan, John kept a freshly mowed baseball diamond in the backyard for his grandchildren to learn the game. That backyard has seen many home runs and tag outs at home. Each grandchild knows their position by birth order and PaPa also taught them how to keep a proper scorecard when he took them to cheer on the Astros.
John was a devoted father, grandfather and a member of the Houston Serra Club, just like his own father. He was active in his parish, was on the Building Committee at St. Thomas More and spent many hours in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. John was a lifelong avid runner and tried to instill his love of running to all his kids and grandkids. He enjoyed traveling, a good airshow, visiting family friends in France, taking cruises with Cookie throughout Europe, and cracking jokes everywhere he went. He will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and all who knew him and loved his sense of humor.
A visitation will be held at 10:00 am with a rosary to follow at 10:15 and the funeral mass at 10:30 am on Wednesday, October 1, 2025 at St Thomas More Catholic Church 10330 Hillcroft St Houston, Texas 77096 with reception to follow the mass in the fellowship hall.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that you support your parish or your favorite organization in his honor.