Larry Dale Gorman

On 11/4/2026 the essence of Larry Dale Gorman was whisked away from his home in Mesa AZ to his next adventure. 

Larry was born on August 23, 1948 to Leonard and Maggie (Williams) Gorman in Belvidere IL and raised in Cherry Valley when the population (1950 census) was 741. He attended Cherry Valley Grade School and Guilford High School. As a member of the first class to attend the newly constructed Guilford for four years, he participated in the selection of the school mascot, the school colors, the naming of the school yearbook and other traditions that remain today. His dreams of becoming an astronaut were thwarted by colorblindness which disqualified him from attending the U.S. Naval Academy. With no Plan B, he joined the U.S. Marine Corps after high school and served with pride as an infantryman in Vietnam.

After attending junior college in Riverside CA, he received a B.S. in Nursing from UCLA. When the Rockford Fire Department announced it would begin a paramedic program, he returned to Winnebago County and served 20 years as a firefighter/paramedic and driver engineer, retiring in 1998. Following his retirement, he moved to Silver City NM seeking his next adventure.

“The Great Adventure” began in 2010 when he became a full-time "RVer" wintering in Florida and Arizona. He visited all 50 states for at least one week each - most for 2-4 weeks and several for 4-6 weeks. In 2020 when the COVID epidemic began, he sold the fifth-wheel and truck, bought a single-wide manufactured home in a 55+ community and began “The Great International Adventure.” Those adventures included a five-month trip to Europe in 2022 that began in Morocco and ended in Iceland; a 95-day cruise around South America in 2023 that visited Antarctica and the Amazon River Basin; a 2024 transpacific cruise through the South Pacific to New Zealand, a month-long visit to Australia and a six-week cruise that made stops along the Asian coast, western Pacific islands and Japan and culminated with a two-week tour of South Korea; and, lastly, a return to Europe in 2025 to “pick up the pieces,” including Scandinavia and Eastern Europe as well as a 28-day cruise along the Norwegian coast to the “Land of the Midnight Sun,” Iceland and Greenland.

He was affectionately known to many as "Uncle Larry" and will be missed by all. Survived by his nieces and nephews Linda Decker, Bob and Paul Conkling, Robyn and Cindy Gorman, Ruth McCaw, Kathy Blair, Dawn (Roberto) and Eric (Christie) Winklemann; Great Nieces and Nephews Tina and Kent (Susan) Johnson, Brad and Brett (Nelia) McCaw, Shannon Decker, Westley, Allison and Rebecca Conkling, Dawn (Dave) Stickels, and John Blair III; numerous great, great and great, great, great nieces and nephews; sister-in-law Caryn Gorman; plus numerous cousins and friends, many whom he met through his extensive travels and genealogy investigations.

Larry was predeceased by parents, sisters Helen Conkling and Hazel (Don Sr.) Decker, brother Roger Gorman, nieces and nephews Tom and Jan Bukowski, Randy Blair and John Blair, Judy and Donnie Decker, Diane and Jim McCaw.

Also predeceased by his lifelong best friend, who he grew up with in Cherry Valley, Gary WInklemann on 10/15/2026 and a fellow Marine who he credits with saving his life in Vietnam, PFC Rudolph "Rudy" Billiot of Houma, LA who was killed in action on 12/21/1967.

In accordance with his wishes, Larry was cremated through Whitney & Murphy Bueler Mortuary in Chandler, AZ.  A celebration of life gathering will be held at a later date.