Charles Arthur Gorman Jr.

Charles Arthur Gorman Jr. 87, of Hendersonville passed away Thursday at Arbor Terrace of Asheville.

Charles was born on July 22, 1934 and was a native of the Boston, Massachusetts area. He was the son of Charles Gorman and Eleanor Quinn Gorman and was one of five siblings in the family. He attended Boston College and participated in the ROTC program. Upon graduation, he served in the US Army in Korea and attained the rank of Captain. Upon his return to Boston, he met Shirley Featherstone of Hendersonville and they were married in 1961. They lived in Massachusetts and raised a family of five children. Charles became employed by the Raytheon Service Company as a technical writer and spent thirty five years at the job. He wrote and edited technical manuals for various defense projects, including the Hawk, Sparrow, Sidewinder and Patriot missile systems. Work related moves brought the family to Houston, Texas and later to Santa Barbara, California. Charlie and Shirley were married for 59 years and after he retired in 1994, the couple moved to Hendersonville and lived on Brookside Camp Road where they enjoyed visits by their children and grandchildren.

Charlie loved to laugh and tell jokes, share stories about his youth, and revel in his smart and talented grandchildren. He was most happy when his whole family was together, especially if it involved being around the best Christmas tree he’d ever seen, which somehow found itself in his home every year. That was his way, finding the brightness in the world and always feeling content with his work, pets, friends and family. He cared and loved with an open heart and will be deeply missed.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Shirley Gorman, brother, Jim Gorman, sister, Joan McCue and his parents. Survivors include his daughters, Cynthia Gorman of Charlotte, Leigh Gorman of Richmond, Virginia, and sons Christopher Gorman of Hendersonville and Michael Gorman of Goleta, California and his 8 grandchildren. Charles is also survived by his siblings Paul Gorman of Saratoga Springs, NY and Mary McCarthy of Maynard, Massachusetts.

Services will be held in the Chapel of Groce Funeral Home Lake Julian in Arden, NC at 11:00 AM on Monday, December 27, 2021. The service will be streamed on Groce Funeral Home’s Facebook page (www.facebook.com/grocefh) starting a few minutes prior to 11:00 AM.