Thomas Henry Gorry

Thomas Henry Gorry, 79, Maryville, Missouri, formerly of Due West, South Carolina, died Tuesday, April 14, 2015, at his daughter's home in Maryville. Thomas (Tom) was born September 9, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York to Thomas Henry Gorry and Christine (Steel) Gorry. He and Odette Nahas Gorry were married in Brooklyn, NY January 22, 1961. Tom served his country with the National Guard Reserves in Fort Dix, NJ. After earning his B.S. from City College of New York, he continued his education at Purdue University, earning his PhD. From there, he became a professor of psychology at Northern Illinois University. His academic work took him all over the world. Over the course of a long career, he was a professor at the American University of Beirut, the College of the South, and ultimately Erskine College in Due West, SC. Due West became his home. Throughout his travels, he forged great friendships and left lasting impacts on those around him. Preceding him in death were his beloved wife, Odette Gorry, his parents and his older sister, Thomasine Walton. Tom and Odette were married for nearly 40 years until they were parted by her untimely death in 1999. To his dying day and now in eternity, he loved only her. Tom is survived by his two daughters Lisa Gorry DiStefano, M.D., Maryville; Thomasine Gorry Shagena, M.D., Philadelphia. Pennsylvania (best of friends and inseparable sisters) two sons-in-law: Thomas DiStefano, M.D. Maryville and Mark Shagena, Philadelphia; four grandchildren Thomas David and James Christopher DiStefano, Maryville and Elizabeth Odette and John Thomas Shagena, Philadelphia; and a sister Beverly Scollay of New Jersey.