Judith M. O'Gorman

There is a lot less laughter and a little less gossip in Wolbach following the passing of one of the Greeley County community’s longtime residents Thursday evening.

Judith “Judy” Marlene O’Gorman passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, August 17, 2023, at CHI Health—Lakeside in Omaha, with her family by her side. Judy’s death came a day after her seventieth birthday, a milestone she characteristically refused to mark with fanfare.

Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:30 a.m. Friday, Aug. 25, 2023, at Sts. Peter & Paul Catholic Church in St. Paul. The Rev. Vince Parsons will celebrate the Mass. Burial will be in the Hillside Cemetery in Wolbach.

Visitation will be Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the church, with a 7 p.m. parish rosary.

The service will be livestreamed on Peters Funeral Home Facebook page. The direct link for that page is www.facebook.com/PetersFuneralHomeSP.

Peters Funeral Home of St. Paul is assisting the family.

Memorials are suggested to the family for later designation.

Judith “Judy” Marlene (Happ) O’Gorman was born on August 16, 1953, in Greeley, the fourth daughter of Sylvanus and Agnes (Kelly) Happ.

Judy grew up in Wolbach, where she lent a hand in her parents’ bar and stayed busy keeping her baby brother, Larry, in line. She graduated from Wolbach High School in 1971.

Following high school, she moved to Grand Island where she was employed by a printing company on Fourth Street. On September 14, 1974, she was united in marriage to Denny O’Gorman at Church of the Visitation in O’Connor. To this union, three children were born: Michael, Matthew, and Bridget.

Following their wedding, Judy joined Denny in the family business, O’Gorman Oil, which operated locations in Wolbach, Greeley, and Cedar Rapids. The couple sold the business in 2004. Judy began her career with Henderson State Bank in Greeley in 2007. While no one knew exactly what her role was, she was still employed at the bank at the time of her passing.

While on the job, Judy emersed herself in the day-to-day goings-on of the communities she worked in, having traded her perch on the end of Center Avenue in Wolbach for a spot-on O’Neill Avenue in Greeley, within earshot of the Greeley County Courthouse, all the while never missing a beat when it came to the happenings around town.

Judy’s work-life was important, yet it paled in comparison to the hospitality she offered up at home.

Generations of Wolbach’s youth spent time around the O’Gormans’ kitchen table, which was always filled with Judy’s home cooking—peanut butter angel food cake and cheesy beans were among her most lauded dishes. When the kitchen wasn’t big enough, Judy had no problem with the party flowing out on to the back deck and into the front drive. Even at the time of her death, there remain children in Wolbach who still referred to her as “Grandma Jude” and it was not out of the ordinary for friends and neighbors to pop in the back door to say hello and enjoy a Bud Light. When she got tired of listening to you, she would tell you to get “your happy ass out,” but everyone knew that her door was always open.

Judy’s hospitable nature could not be confined to her home. Over the years, she served the Wolbach community in a variety of capacities. In addition to assisting with the annual Wolbach Days barbeque and countless funeral lunches and community club events, Judy and her longtime friend Lori Dilsaver operated Lucy and Ethel’s Catering. The enterprise, which was born to help raise funds for a long-planned trip to Las Vegas, quickly gained popularity. If there was a roaster of potatoes served in Wolbach, more than likely it came from the kitchen of Judy O’Gorman.

Judy was also a steadfast practitioner of the Catholic faith. A longtime member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Wolbach, she served the church in numerous capacities, including many years as a religious education instructor. Later in life, Judy attended Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in St. Paul.

Following Denny’s passing in 2013, Judy said the only man she ever got close to was John Deere, as she maintained one of the most beautiful lawns in Wolbach. She often noted that, whenever she got in a bind, or whenever the squirrels started to encroach, the people of Wolbach were always there to lend her a hand. Judy also enjoyed garage sales—finding numerous treasures over the years, including her current toilet seat, at various sales—trips with her siblings across the country, corresponding with various nuns, and, most importantly, spending time with her children and grandchildren.

Later in life, when she became old and frugal, she experimented with rolling her own cigarettes, and enjoyed drinking Diet Pepsi and Bud Light. She also spent her time reading the obituary page and curated a vast collection of rolling pins.

Those left to hold her memory close include her children, Matthew and Laura O’Gorman of Lincoln and Bridget and Nathan Rath of Yutan; her grandchildren, Aiden, Gavin, Brooks, and Brynley; sisters and brothers-in-law, Karen Happ and special friend Chuck Anders of Mullen, Sharon and Jim Goettsche of Columbus; and Rita and Jack Smits of Ashland; brother and sister-in-law, Lawrence and Jeanne Happ of Palmer; as well as many nieces; nephews; and friends.

Judy was preceded in death by her husband, Denny, in 2013; son, Michael, in 1980; parents, Syl and Agnes Happ; grandparents, Thomas and Lucile Kelly and Edward and Dorothy Happ; and mother-in-law and father-in-law, Pat and Fern O’Gorman.