Bette Jo Gorman, nee Sitzberger, of Hinsdale, former longtime resident of Clarendon Hills, passed away peacefully Feb. 9, 2024.
Bette Jo was born in Chicago. She graduated from Trinity High School in River Forest and earned a bachelor's in history from St. Mary's College in Notre Dame, Ind., with the class of 1961. She developed lifelong friendships with several of her college classmates. Frequent communication and multiple annual ski trips strengthened the bond.
Her fascination with the air travel industry, as part of Pan American Airways, took her around the world in her 20s. Destinations included Mount Kenya, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Paris, Tahiti, Hawaii and more.
She enjoyed playing bridge, yoga, dancing and "one" glass of chardonnay, and was a competitive club tennis player. Retiring from the travel business allowed her to dive into astrology. Family and friends smiled as she did their "chart." The next big move was starting Space Harmony Feng Shui, a consulting business. She loved spending hours explaining how to link the Chakras with the Bagua map. Among the positive results of that adventure, an author blossomed. The book title is "The Ch'i of Body and Place." Later in life Sudoku puzzles and Wordle were daily fun challenges.
She met her husband of 56 years, Earl, when their younger brothers arranged a rendezvous in the summer of 1964. Married in 1967, she lived in Concord, Calif., as a Marine officer's wife. Later they moved to Clarendon Hills and raised three children.
Bette Jo is an irreplaceable treasure, a creator of dreams for her loved ones; a faithful, intelligent and loving woman. Her five grandchildren call her "Kshama". Echoes of laughter emanated from the grandchildren when she shared experiences in her archaic vernacular of terms such as kashiss, persnickety and kanorkin.
She is survived by her husband, Earl John Gorman Jr .; her children, E.J. (Annie) Gorman III, Elizabeth (Michael) Thornton and Lynn (Judah) Battista; her grandchildren, William, Landon. Colin, Dylan and Noah; and her sisters, Suzanne (Joseph Connolly) Williams, Sandy (Tim) Matts and Debbie (Neil Dorfman) Sitzberger.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Frank and Bette Sitzberger; and her younger brothers, Bud and Ken Sitzberger.
Visitation is from 10 to 11 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 24, at Notre Dame Catholic Church, 64 Norfolk Ave., Clarendon Hills.
A memorial Mass will follow at 11 a.m. Inurnment will be at the U.S. Naval Academy Columbarium in Annapolis, Md., at a later date.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to Raven Rock Ranch in Redmond, Wash. http://www.ravenrockranch.org.
Cappetta's West Suburban Funeral Home & Cremation Services, in Downers Grove handled the arrangements.
