Twilla M. Gorsuch

Twilla Mae Gorsuch was known as many things to many people. She was a loved one, a friend, and someone special. To family and friends who knew her best, Twilla will be remembered as a very exceptional person.

Twilla Mae Schroeder was born on July 18, 1944 at Grau Hospital in Muscatine, Iowa, the daughter of Bernadine Kay (Kinnan) and Robert Charles Schroeder. Twilla grew up on a farm about eight miles south of Tipton, Iowa. When Twilla was about two years old, the family found out that Bernadine had cancer. After Bernadine’s passing, Robert (Bob) met my mother, Marion L. Safley who have two children of her own. On October 5, 1947 Bob and Marion were married. Twilla was raised with three siblings, Judith, KayLeen, and Max.

Twilla spent her younger years at the University of Iowa Children’s Handicap Hospital in Iowa City under the care of Doctor Ponceta who was famous for his expertise work in bone diseases. Twilla was born with a disease that did not let her body produce calcium. She was able to come home for the holidays and some weekends, and this was a very hard and difficult time for the entire family. We all joyed in going to get her and having her home, but it was so hard to take her back. Twilla has had over 50 leg brakes in her life. The doctors at the hospital told mom and dad that she would not live beyond her teens. They sure did not know Twilla that well.

When Twilla was able to walk with braces and crutches/walker, she was able to live at home. In 7th grade, she was able to enter the Tipton Public School system. The school board was worried about her getting from first floor to third floor as the school did not have an elevator at that time. The senior boys of that year formed a pact: every week, two different boys would take turns getting her off the school bus, carrying her to her first class, and then, at the end of the day or when we had a big event, they would carry her to that or the bus. They did this up to the day she graduated.

When Twilla was going to the Univ. of Iowa Handicap School, she met her husband, Larry Gray. After she left there and was going to Tipton School, they continued to write back and forth. After she graduated from Tipton School, she lived in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She rented a room with two other Tipton School classmates and they all went to Kirkwood Community College, where she took bookkeeping, which she exceled in. She was on the honor roll and was on the Tipton School paper, called the MegaPhone. In April on 1964, the School named Twilla the Queen of their paper.

In the late winter of 1965 and early spring, Twilla slipped on some ice coming out of her apartment and broke her leg. That ended her college career. In 1966, Twilla and Larry Gray were married in Aurora, Illinois. Fortunately, Twilla enjoyed what she did for a living. Showing a strong work ethic, Twilla worked diligently and did her best to succeed in her career. Twilla took a job at the K-Mart in Aurora and worked herself up to becoming the head bookkeeper, working there for 20 years. Twilla then got a job at the Veterans Affairs in Las Vegas where she worked until her retirement.

In 1978, Larry passed away. On April 27, 1985, Twilla was married to Jeff Gorsuch. To this union a son, Scott Robert was born. Twilla and Jeff parted ways and Twilla and Scott moved to Las Vegas. Twilla worked hard to be a good mother to Scott and did her best to fulfill his needs.

Twilla enjoyed many things in her life that brought her happiness. As a child, the family always had a big garden, and Twilla loved being outside. There was one day when the weather was warm and Twilla was sitting on a blanket under a cherry tree. Twilla yelled at Mom, “Hey, Mom, what should I do if a snake comes near me.” Mom very calmly said, just hit it with the hole that I put there. After a while Mom thought, she is really quiet. She decided to look at Twilla, here she saw just sitting on the blanket next to the snake, and his head was chopped off!

As kids, Twilla and her siblings loved to play badminton outside. Their dad fixed up the net for them, with Max and Twilla on one side and Kay and Judy on the other. It just seemed that Max and Twilla always won. Twilla was always able to hit the “birdie” back over the net and then some. The strength in her arms and wrist was so strong, it just put the others to shame.

Twilla passed away on September 11, 2018 at Spring Valley Hospital in Las Vegas, Nevada. She was preceded in death by her mother, Bernadine; her father, Robert; her step-mother, Marion; and her first husband, Larry. She is survived by her son, Scott Gorsuch; her sisters, Judy Safley Archer of Tipton, IA and KayLeen Schroeder Brewer of Sikston, MO; her brother, Max Safley and his wife, Kaye of California, MO; her nephews, Kirk, Cory, Randy, Robert, and John; her nieces, Shelly, Jenny, and Suzanna; and many cousins from Tipton, IA. Services were held at Palm Southwest Mortuary.

Simply stated, Twilla was a good and kind person, an individual who will for all time be remembered by her family and friends as being a caring and giving person, someone who was a vital part of their lives. She proved everyone wrong with what all she has accomplished in her wonderful life. Scott was her biggest accomplishment and greatest joy. For this, the world is a better to have had her and Scott in it. Twilla leaves behind her a legacy of life-long friendships and many cherished memories. Everyone whose life she touched will always remember Twilla Mae Gorsuch.