Bobby Joe Gorman

It is not often, in the world that we live in today, that you meet the true epitome of a Cowboy, yet that is the only word that seems to ring true when describing Bobby Joe Gorman. Born on September 21^st, 1943 in Fort Worth, Texas- Bobby was raised, along with his 4 siblings (Royce, Wayne, Evelyn, and Johnny) to appreciate the importance of hard work and determination. Whether it was playing with the orphans of the Masonic Home, catching chickens to earn extra money, hauling hay or running the bases in a baseball game, Bobby Joe gave 100% heart to everything that he did. He learned quickly that whatever he wanted or strived to have he would have to work hard to obtain, and that way of thinking stuck with him throughout his lifetime. 

After relocating to Kennedale, that is when Bobby truly fell in love with country living. Whether it was cows, horses, hunting, fishing with his brothers, or just spending time outdoors, he knew that the country is what he wanted to be surrounded by forever. 

When Bobby was 16, he was at a baseball game. While attempting to slide into 3^rd base, Bobby unfortunately shattered his leg and Martha came up to the hospital to visit him, having been friends with him in high school. It was, according to him, in that moment, that he knew that she was the woman he wanted to spend the rest of his life with, and not long after they were married in a small ceremony on June 8^th, 1961. Debbie, Janet, and Lisa were born in the coming years and quickly became Bobby’s reason for living, a true girls Dad. Although he desperately wanted a boy, Bobby Joe would go on to instill the same work ethic and determination that he possessed into his daughters, taking them to the sale barn, working the cattle, and tending the property right alongside him. His daughters describe their father unanimously as the ultimate adventurer and if asked separately, would all say they were their Father’s favorite when goes to show the nurture he put into the relationship with each individually. 

Bobby was a man who would invest time and energy into the individual interests of the ones he loved. He was a man of few words, but silently could hold a conversation while standing next to you with his stoic and supportive frame almost holding you up in times of weakness. He laughed with his shoulders, and although he didn’t speak often, if you listened you could hear the one-liners on occasion that would make your stomach hurt from laughter, the best that I heard from many was, “Don’t tell you Mama!” 

Every summer Bobby would load up his little family. Martha & the 3 girls, Granny, the girls prized camping possession (an ice chest covered in bear claw marks) ,and even the family chihuahua named Suzie, to spend two weeks of hard-earned vacation time camping and creating memories that still to this day his girls will never forget. Adventures such as traveling through the Redwood Forrest in California, seeing Mount Rushmore and being chased by buffalo in South Dakota, feeding baby deer and chasing greased pigs in Colorado, rolling down the white sands in New Mexico, or picking up seashells and sand dollars in Corpus Christi, Bobby always enjoyed this quality break with his girls after being gone most of the time for work. In speaking to his daughters, one consensus was that he made the ultimate sacrifice when they were young, sacrificing quality time to provide whatever their little hearts could desire. Even years later when he finally gave up being on the road after accepting a position at General Motors, Bobby, being the workaholic that he was described to be, still worked 7 days a week until the day that he retired. 

He loved their Annual Fish Frys, equipped with live bands, margarita machines, and games at his little piece of Heaven on Earth, his farm. One of the last times the family was able to get together was to watch the Kentucky Derby, one of his absolute favorite sports, having raised and owned racehorses throughout his life, and each family member selected a horse. After staying awake throughout the race, eager to see how it turned out, Bobby’s horse won and the house heard a “Hmm.”, just enough of a “See I told you” Sound that the family all knew that he hadn’t lost his sense of humor. 

He enjoyed George Jones and Merle Haggard, and even owned a few precious vinyl’s that he played when his girls were little as he would take turn dancing them around the house on his toes. Later in life he loved listening to Alan Jackson sing his favorite hymns, and one of his proudest accomplishments was becoming a Mason. If you came over on any given day you would have seen Bobby driving his Kubota checking fences, rounding up his Black Angus cattle, or just admiring the place he worked so hard to obtain as well as maintain. When the sun was going down, though? You could always find him on the back porch, with Martha. If the farm was his Heaven on Earth, that back porch next to Martha was the street of gold. 

Although he loved his family fiercely, the true love of his life was Martha. One of his favorite things to do every morning was to make his wife a glass of tea before she woke up. Even when his wife faced insurmountable odds and sickness, Bobby never left her side. If she was in the hospital for 30 days, so was he. One hospital stay, determined to give Martha something to look forward to, Bobby brought up stacks of magazines and instructed his wife of decades to put together her dream house and he would make it all come true. Bobby delivered on his promise and instilled a love of the song “House that built me” by Miranda Lambert. Their true-life love story defied all logic or understanding and never wavered. Even in the end the only thing Bobby wanted to do was look at, hold hands with, and admire Martha. He truly was only ever a one-woman man. The true example of a Cowboy and proof that chivalry is not and was not dead.  

          His strength to keep going came from his desire to watch his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren grow up. Debbie, Janet, and Lisa knew he was their steadfast strength when they needed it. Bret and Mickie knew that he was always there for them as if they were his own.  Of all the titles that he answered to throughout his life, though, Pop was his favorite. His grandchildren Katelynn, Dillon, Reagan, and Emily along with his great grandchildren Korbin, Creed, Brazos, Emersyn, Kinley, Irish, Baylee, Braelyn, and Walker all know without a doubt that they were loved, seen, validated, and worshipped by their Pop, who always showed up with a smile and a shoulder laugh to anything he was invited to. 

Overall, Bobby Joe Gorman was a wonderfully kind man that is not easily described. Even with the roughly 1 million words in the English language, not enough exists to convey the immensity with which he will be missed by those that loved him. The kind of man that even when he could no longer hug, would squeeze his eyes tight and tell his family, “Theres your hug.” The kind of man that, when living in Eagan, arranged for a physically disabled little girl in the neighborhood to be picked up by a limo and taken to Scottish Wright Hospital, only to have all her surgeries done at no cost. The kind of man that taught his little tribe to drive trucks, four wheelers, feed cows, be loyal, courageous, and stubborn. Yes, he will be missed and the world will be a little dimmer today without that kind of compassion and light, but his family finds comfort in the fact that he is home, pain free, and working hard once again to prepare a place for them one day.