William J Gorjance
February 17, 1926 - July 31, 2023
Obituary
We celebrate the long and full life of Bill Gorjance who died July 31, 2023, in his 98th year. He was born in Chicago, IL, the last of seven children of Slovenian immigrants Mathew and Louise (Povse) Gorjance. His earliest memory was of the tragic loss of his eldest sister Anne in a motorcycle accident in 1928. Experiencing the Great Depression as a young boy gave Bill a lifelong compassion for the poor and the marginalized. He was 8th grade valedictorian at St. Ludmilla’s parish school and may have been the only one in his family to complete high school.
Bill loved everything airplanes and spent 9th grade on full scholarship at the Lewis School of Aeronautics before it closed to become a U.S. Navy pilot training base as war loomed. Returning to the house his father built in the Chicago suburbs, Bill attended Argo High School and supported the war effort by building model planes for pilot instruction and working part-time as a draftsman for Corn Products Refining Co. An honor student, he was also active in theater and music. Upon graduation in 1944, Bill trained as a radio operator for the U.S. Army Air Corps and was fortunate to avoid combat. Following his service in postwar Japan, he used the GI Bill to earn an engineering degree from Illinois Aeronautical University. Bill then took a mechanics course while working nights refueling TWA planes at Midway Field.
In 1951, Bill moved to Seattle, WA to begin a 36-year career at Boeing. He met North Dakota transplant Patricia Ann Chambers at the Newman Club for Catholic singles at Blessed Sacrament Church, and they married in 1955. Bill and Pat built a Seattle Times award-winning “Home of the Month” in Tukwila and raised four children surrounded by books, music, gardens, and pets. Bill was a gentle soul with eclectic interests, from wood working to U.S. Civil War history. Having survived lymphoma in the late 1980s, he took advantage of a new lease on life. He and Pat travelled the world, made jam from their garden, and enjoyed many symphony and opera concerts. Bill also started to enter “no purchase necessary” contests, through which he won many prizes large and small, including cruises, computers, and two cars, but he traded the Hummer for a more sensible Saab. In his 90s, he baked scones for his health care providers.
Bill’s faith and life experience led him to support many charities and liberal causes. A parishioner of Tukwila’s St. Thomas Catholic Church since 1958, Bill served in many capacities, including building project lead, parish council chair, and choir director. He also loved his decade plus with the St. James Cathedral choir, especially the opportunity to sing at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. His 29-year stint on the Tukwila Arts Commission brought much beauty to city neighborhoods and parks.
Bill’s loving wife Pat and daughter Theresa predeceased him. He leaves behind his children William, Mary (Robert Winship), and Vincent (Lauren Osmolski), and grandchildren Luke Winship, Sophia Gorjance, Genevieve Gorjance, and Nathan Gorjance (Ella Hoberman). His family is grateful to the community Bill found at Holden Southcenter and to Holden staff and Continuum Hospice for their expert care. His funeral mass is Friday, August 11th at 11 AM, at St. Thomas Church. He will be buried alongside Pat and Theresa under the beautiful monument of his own design at St. Patrick’s Cemetery in Kent, WA.
To honor his memory, please feed the hungry, plant a garden, rescue strays, and support the arts.
