Sophia Gorman

Sophia Gorman (née Papageorge), 94, passed away on July 16, 2026. She is survived by her three children, Aphrodite Hermes, Anne-Jacqueline Lehr, and Elias Gorman; her two grandchildren, Theodora (Teddi) Sakellarides and Travis Hermes; and her beloved nephews, cousins, and extended family in Maryland, New Jersey, and Chicago.

Born on September 30, 1931, in Brooklyn, New York, to Aphrodite (née Sakellarides) and Elias Papageorge, Sophia spent her childhood in a bustling three-bedroom apartment on St. John's Place with her parents, her late sister Theodora, her aunt and uncle, Michael and Rego Makris, and their children, Teddi, Maria, and Kosta. The apartment was often filled with visiting cousins from Greece as well; people slept on the hallway floors due to limited space. Multiple generations lived under one roof, creating a lively home where family life revolved around one another. Sophia spoke fondly of her years in Brooklyn for the rest of her life, often reminiscing about school dances, trips to the library, piano lessons, lively family dinners, adventures with her sister and cousins, and spending time in her father's lunchette, The Mayflower. Those were among the happiest years of her life, and although she spent nearly all of her adulthood in Ohio and Pennsylvania, she always considered herself, at heart, a New Yorker.

At the center of Sophia's identity was an immense love for her parents and a deep pride in her Greek heritage, especially her family's home of Karpathos, a beautiful island in the southeastern Aegean Sea that she returned to numerous times throughout her life. The daughter of immigrants, she was equally proud to be an American, often telling the story of how her mother kissed the ground upon arriving in the United States. Sophia was deeply patriotic, steadfast in her political convictions, endlessly fascinated by American history, and never missed an opportunity to vote in every election throughout her life.

In 1956, Sophia married Jack Gorman in Maryland, and soon afterward they welcomed three beloved children: Aphrodite in 1957, Anne-Jacqueline Lehr in 1958, and Elias in 1963. She was immensely proud of each of them and never missed an opportunity to celebrate their accomplishments, raving about them to anyone who would listen. She often spoke of Anne's beauty and extraordinary natural talent for theater, Elias' accomplishments as both a marathon runner and an influential high school history teacher, and Aphrodite's remarkable achievement of learning a foreign language, as well as her belief that Aphrodite was the best mother she had ever known.

Family was always Sophia's greatest priority. When her daughter Aphrodite and son-in-law, Richard Hermes, settled in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, in the 1980s, Sophia followed soon after, eager to be close to the grandchildren she was already encouraging them to have. Even before they were conceived, she often said she wanted to be there for every single day of their lives—and she faithfully kept that promise. Her first grandchild, Theodora (Teddi) Sakellarides, was, in Sophia's words, her "gift from God"—a sentiment made all the more fitting by the meaning of her name. Her grandson, Travis, was affectionately known as her "champion."

For the last 32 years of her life, Sophia lived in a renovated apartment attached to the home of her daughter and son-in-law. She was Teddi and Travis's devoted babysitter throughout their childhoods and remained deeply involved in every aspect of their lives—attending every school event, celebrating every milestone, teaching them piano, sharing holidays, playing cards, watching movies, and having conversations that stretched late into the night. In the last 15 years of her life, the roles gradually reversed, and Teddi became her primary caregiver—a role for which Sophia expressed profound gratitude. They continued to spend much of their time together, going to doctors' appointments, restaurants, the movie theater, running errands, and visiting her longtime hairstylist.

A lifelong learner, Sophia was an avid reader who, in the final year of her life alone, read more than 50 books, most of them biography and historical fiction. She had a deep fascination with space exploration, politics, geography, the World Wars, and the inner workings of cinema. Nearly every day, she sought out new books, asked family members to print articles from the internet, or enlisted them to help settle obscure historical questions. She also had a deep appreciation for the arts and was a musician herself, remaining involved with the piano for most of her life—beginning lessons in childhood and later teaching from her apartment well into her late 70s. Classical music remained a constant companion throughout her life. She also possessed an uncanny ability to recall—and enthusiastically recount to anyone who would listen—the plots of classic films decades after seeing them.

Beyond her intellectual and artistic pursuits, Sophia had a deep love for animals and was a devoted vegetarian and animal rights advocate long before either became mainstream. Over the years, she shared her different homes with many beloved cats and dogs, though she spoke most fondly and frequently of Mugsy, the corgi mix she adopted in Ohio.

Those who knew Sophia will remember her as compassionate, curious, talkative, feisty, loyal, opinionated, political, passionate, and particular. She loved spirited conversations and remained deeply engaged with the world and people around her until the very end.

True to her character, Sophia was determined to remain as independent as possible, living in her own apartment surrounded by her treasured possessions and close to the family she loved. She accomplished exactly that.

Sophia knew she had been blessed with a long life, though she often remarked that she wanted to live forever. Her family prays that, in the hearts and minds of those who love her, she will.

May her memory be eternal.