Patrick Gorman

Patrick H. Gorman III

Poet, Inventor,
Workingman
Patrick Gorman was the rare combination of hardhat and original thinker, born Nov. 8, 1939 in New York City. He attended Philips Academy and spent two years at Dartmouth College, Mass. After a break to travel the world as a Merchant Seaman, he graduated from the College of Wooster in Ohio with a B.A. in Religion and Philosophy and took an M.A. in Anhtrapology at the U. of Cincinnati. Choosing the life of a laborer, he worked in the San Francisco shipyards as a Boilermaker and was a member of Local 510 until his retirement in 2003. A longtime resident of Potrero Hill, he died on May 9th after a long struggle with Mantle Cell Lymphoma.
Patrick never stopped inventing ways to make life better and easier. He patented a new technology for floating structures which eliminates the direct effect of tides and waves. This patented device for runways designed to be used by very large aircraft (VLA) is held by his company Agway. It can expand an airport's capacity to handle VLA for commercial traffic.
An avid reader and philosopher steeped in the classics, his library numbers in the thousands. He was never without his notebook. He touched many with his zeal for knowledge and zest for life. Colorful, kind and generous he was a man of deep friendships. His Best Man and closest friend, Tom Kernan, expressed the sentiments of all who knew him, "I have no hope of finding a replacement." Truly this unique, passionate man is unforgettable.
He is survived by his wife of 31 years, Janet; his son Atarbes, grandchildren Jasper and Darwin and daughter-in-law Stephanie, his three sisters, Emunah Gorman, Mari Gorman and Gila Garaway, and many nieces and nephews and his first wife, Sally Ray.
The family requests donations be sent to the San Francisco Public Library. A Celebration of Life will be held in the near future and listed somehow on the internet.