CENTRAL FLORIDA NEWS  (Orlando, Florida)

January 8, 2010

Community Mourns Loss Of Sister Cathy Gorman

Reported by Emily Lampa

APOPKA -- An Orange County community is mourning the loss of Sister Cathy Gorman, who was a champion for minorities and immigrant workers. 

After years of health problems, Sister Gorman succumbed to congestive heart failure on Monday at the age of 65.

Arcadio Espinosa and Sister Ann Kendrick are heartbroken over the loss of a dear friend.

Espinosa said he met Sister Gorman when he was just 20 years old, and if it weren't for her advocacy for immigrant workers, he said his life would have taken a very different turn.

“Sister Cathy was like my mother in the United States,” Espinosa said. “I know her for 25 years. They picked me up from the streets and they finished the work my real parents were doing with me.”

Sister Gorman began her fight for migrant workers in the 1960s and 1970s when she actively participated in the farm worker union boycott of grapes.
   
In 1971, the same year Walt Disney World opened, Sister Gorman and Sister Kendrick came to Central Florida to work with immigrant farm workers through the Catholic Diocese of Orlando.

"Central Florida was a very different place then, and the people that we worked with mostly, they all picked oranges or worked out here on the muck and the farm area around Lake Apopka and in the nursery, the horticultural industries around here," Sister Kendrick said.

Sister Gorman fought hard for years, not only for farm workers, but against numerous health issues.

Friends said that didn't stop her from breaking ground and building the Hope CommUnity Center, a safe haven for farm workers and their families.

"She's a fighter,” Sister Kendrick said. “She's a warrior. She never gave up."

This is why Sister Kendrick said the loss of her long-time friend was sudden.

"We've lived and worked together as a community of sisters, you know, for 39 years,” Sister Kendrick said. “That's a long time. So I'm going to miss her a lot."

Although the construction of the community center was Sister Gorman’s life mission and stands as a testament to her fortitude, friends said her legacy extends far beyond its four walls.

The funeral service for Sister Gorman will be Saturday, Jan. 16.