Alice M. Gormley

Alice M. Gormley, 86, of Queens Village passed away peacefully on January 15, 2022, and was reunited in eternal life with her loving husband Joseph. Beloved mother of Mary (Nick), Joe (Patti), Alice (Ed), Joan (Bernie), Bernadette (Charlie), Jim, Eddie (Hanna), Jeany (Bobby), and Sue (Jorge). Cherished grandmother of 21 and great grandmother of 5. Family and friends may visit on Thursday, January 20 from 4:00-8:00pm at R. Stutzmann & Son Funeral Home, 224-39 Jamaica Ave Queens Village, NY. Funeral Mass will be held on Friday, January 21 at 10:00am at Incarnation RC Church, 89-04 207th St Queens Village, NY. Interment to follow at Mt. St. Mary’s Cemetery, 172-00 Booth Memorial Avenue Flushing, NY. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Alice’s memory to Little Sisters of the Poor and St. Vincent de Paul.

Alice was a native Queens Villager. Her parents built the home she was born and raised in, which Alice and her husband Joe purchased and raised their family in. She made lifelong friends with her neighbors, fellow parishioners, and local business owners and clerks.

Alice married her best friend and teenage sweetheart Joe in 1956. They shared life together until 2016 when Joe passed away. Alice and Joe loved each other deeply and were not shy about showing it. They taught their children by example how to love your spouse and keep romance alive.

Alice taught her children to pray, work hard, love our neighbors, attend mass together, and celebrate often. Vanilla ice cream was her favorite dessert, and she served it often. Alice enjoyed creating a Valentine’s Box full of surprises for each child. She treated them like royalty on their birthdays. The celebrations became more frequent when her youngest child Sue was born; she had the family celebrate every week of Sue’s 1st year.

She enjoyed Christmas caroling with our neighbors and celebrated every season. Summers meant block parties and swimming in our pool. Halloween meant creating homemade costumes and games. Easter was joy filled and Advent involved making homemade cards and creating unique Christmas ornaments and candy treats for our neighbors.

Alice enjoyed sports. She played basketball in high school and loved to shoot hoops in the backyard. She was an avid sports fan, and was quite attached to her NY teams. She loved the Brooklyn Dodgers, but never forgave them for moving to LA, and was known to keep the Mets game on her TV even if she was entertaining.

Alice was a phenomenal Scrabble player and loved to work on crossword puzzles. She was an avid reader and made sure to encourage us in that direction. She was fun to play games with and knew when to question the validity of her children’s best guesses. She believed in mandatory playtime outdoors, and her children can’t thank her enough for the hours of creative fun they had with both siblings and friends, all without the benefit of radios, video games or cell phones.

Alice was so willing to let her children experiment in the kitchen. She was honest; she didn’t like to cook. And she was smart. She taught her children the basics of cooking and baking, let them use her cookbooks, made kitchen chores mandatory, and then let them make some meals and desserts.

Alice showed her children that they were loved, each were unique, and above all treasured. She took great care to bake their favorite cake, prepare their favorite meal, choose the best card, and shower them with special presents for their birthdays.

Alice kept Hallmark in business. The village card shop knew Alice well. She managed to make dear friends with the store clerks. Alice was busy, and had lots to get done, but always took time to chat and ask how others were. People opened up to Alice. She cared about others and took the time to listen to their concerns and worries.

Alice taught her children to walk everywhere, which was both productive and essential, because Alice didn’t drive until her youngest child Sue was in elementary school. Walking a few miles to the grocery store or library was just part of Alice’s daily life, and thus her children became excellent walkers as well. She taught us how to use public transportation, and how to shop until you dropped, but only because she had to feed and clothe a family of 11. When Alice did earn her license, she drove everywhere. Her children joke that their youngest sibling Sue was her favorite because she even delivered a forgotten homework assignment to Sue’s school.

Alice’s neighbors probably remember her children working outside because Alice was right beside them. Alice had them learn to care for the house and grounds, and then use those skills to help elderly neighbors, Grandmas Bendernagel and Gormley, and even the city. Alice and family cleaned and maintained the mall in front of the homestead, as well as the vacant lot located a few houses south.

Alice loved her children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. She loved to hear what they were up to. She enjoyed sharing the adventures of her family with her friends just as all proud grandmas do, and she was thrilled when you could visit with her at the homestead. And if you brought dinner, Alice was even more excited that you were able to stop by!

The Gormley family is grateful for the long and beautiful life their Mom was given. We almost lost her when Sue was quite little, but God restored her health.

Sadly, the last few years have been bittersweet and a long goodbye as dementia slowly robbed our Mom of her memory. However, our family will always treasure the power of music to allow us to connect with Mom through her last hours on earth, and we will always be grateful for the care she received from her loving Dignity and Sunrise aides.

The Gormley family mourns their Mom’s passing while celebrating her life. We are grateful she is with our Dad now, in the presence of Christ, Mary, all the saints and the angels, busy singing to the glory of God.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.rstutzmannandsonfuneralhome.com for the Gormley family.