The community is mourning and bidding farewell, after Imelda Gorman, longtime fixture at University Heights Academy and “Citizen of the Year”, has passed away at the age of 96.
Known for her staunch dedication to the arts locally and education, many know Gorman as the director of admissions and development at University Heights Academy, where she served for over three decades, but Gorman moved to Hopkinsville with her family in 1975.
She immediately became involved in the local arts scene by joining the Pennyrile Players, where she played in several shows, and began a long-standing support for the historic Alhambra Theatre, leading to numerous successful fundraisers and events there.
Gorman leaves behind six children, 16 grand-children and 15 great-grandchildren.
She and her family hosted numerous exchange students over the years, and she treated them as ‘bonus’ children. Gorman’s love and dedication can be viewed plainly in her children, who have each gone on to experience success and happiness, with all of them dedicating that to the care of their mother.
According to her obituary, Historian William Turner once stated, “If Hopkinsville had a queen, it would be Imelda Gorman.”