SOUTH DENNIS, MA – Frances A. Gorman, 82, (1941-2024) passed away peacefully March 29th, 2024 with family by her side. Born in Chicopee, she was the daughter of Florence (Nowak) and Frank Maziarz and raised by Florence and Frank Bloyder in Chicopee and South Hadley.
After graduating from UMass Amherst, Frances began her elementary school teaching career in Lexington, Massachusetts prior to starting a family with (late) husband Phil. After taking time to raise four young children, Frances resumed teaching in Westfield and Worcester. She treasured her Chicopee childhood friends, her lifelong “UMass ladies”, and her close-knit Ridgecrest neighborhood friends. Frances was a brilliant sewer, quiltmaker, cake decorator and overall craft person who enjoyed teaching classes and sharing her talents at the Westfield Senior Center. Following her retirement from the Westfield Public Schools, Frances enjoyed traveling with friends and family to Poland, Greece and elsewhere before relocating to South Dennis on the Cape, where she loved the beaches, local arts, and reconnecting with other Western Mass “transplants.”
Frances and her late husband Philip E. Gorman, of Holyoke, raised their family in Westfield and Shrewsbury. For her children, Frances was “one of the great ones” who was always there with support and easygoing humor. Her sheer resilience and positive outlook, even as her health declined in recent years, has been a tremendous source of inspiration for her family. She adored her five grandchildren and always loved to hear about their latest adventures. She was the mother of Janet Gorman Kieran (and Damian) of Marlborough, Phil Gorman of Montrose, California, David Gorman (and Evelyn) of Los Gatos, California, and Catherine Gorman DeMeo (and Chris) of Marlborough; loving grandmother of Jennifer in Los Angeles, and Tommy, Conor, Shane and Gigi in Marlborough; sister of the late Christine (and Bob) Moriarty of Chicopee, Nancy (and Tom) Shaker of Westfield; aunt to Kevin (and Sara) Moriarty of Fitzwilliam, NH, Courtney (and Paul) Sullivan of W. Roxbury, the late Ben Shaker, and Stephanie (and Tim) McKeever of Apex, North Carolina.
All are welcome to calling hours Thursday, April 18th from 4 to 6 p.m. at Firtion Adams Funeral Home, 76 Broad Street, Westfield and the funeral Mass Friday, April 19th at 10:30 a.m. at St. Mary’s Parish in Westfield, followed by burial at St. Jerome’s Cemetery in Holyoke. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Westfield Senior Center at 45 Noble Street, Westfield, MA 01085 or the Dennis Senior Center and Council on Aging at 1045 MA-134, South Dennis, MA 02660. Visit www.firtionadams.com or call (413) 562-6244 for details.
