Daily Sitka Sentinel

James Ogden Gorman Services to be Nov. 2

Jamie Gorman and Schmidt

Jamie Gorman

 

 

James Ogden Gorman
July 14, 1989-October 22, 2019
“Dearest beloved Mark, Nancy and Carrington: I have learned the heartbreaking news.  It shakes to the core of my heart. Jamie was a truly beautiful human being, perhaps too gentle for this world.  And yet he loved the world – fishing, hunting, exploring, boating, surfing, As they say, still waters run deep. I remember Jamie’s tender smile, his sparkling eyes, his sweet abiding softness.  There was and never could be another Jamie.  He will always have a very special place in my heart.  Dear Nancy, Mark, and Carrington, my thoughts of you fill me with love and compassion,   I believe he will live on with all of us as an abiding spirit, as pure and wild as the Alaska that held his soul so tightly.   With my deep love to you all always.  Nels”

Richard Nelson sent the above to us yesterday from his intensive care bed in San Francisco where he is fighting for his life from cancer.
Nels captures the essence of our lovely Jamie. Jamie was at his happiest when on the waters of the world: be they catching a wave in Bali, wake boarding in a swamp in Thailand, getting rolled on the cobbles of Shoals Point, setting a seine in Deep Inlet, interning for the Wildlife Conservation Society sampling 500 miles of the Mekong River for the giant catfish DNA, braving the wild seas of western Alaska or winter Dungeness fishing off the coast of Washington. Brine, smelly rain gear, and unwashed socks were his cologne of choice. One of his greatest joys was being on the floor, rubbing the stomachs, of the golden retrievers he grew up with.
Jamie was born at Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital July 14, 1989.  He was a beautiful baby endowed with a determination to move in his own direction. He was a product of the Sitka School system with baseball, snowboarding, surfing, swimming, and jazz competing with his drive to be in wilds with friends, skiffs, and adventure.
Jamie graduated from the University of Oregon in 2011 with a degree in environmental sciences.
He is survived by his parents, Mark and Nancy, and his brother, Carrington.
A celebration of Jamie’s life will be held at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, at Allen Auditorium.
Instead of flowers or gifts, please consider a contribution to the Sitka Sound Science Center in Jamie’s memory. A marine and beach cleanup will be scheduled in his honor.