Elizabeth (Gorman) Sparby

Elizabeth (Gorman) Sparby, or Betty, 79, of Binghamton NY, died Thursday October 27th, where she wanted to, at the home she grew up in in Binghamton, after a long illness.  
She was born on April 16th, 1943 to Grace and Louis Gorman in Binghamton, NY – one of seven siblings.  She started working at NYSEG after high school and worked there until she retired.  
She married the wild Norwegian, Kaare (Karl) Sparby on January 29, 1982 and they had one daughter, Amy Colleen.  Betty was also so much more than a stepmother to her sons Ragnar, Einar, Jens, and Leif.  She was “mom”, that was it.
She was an avid bowler, golfer, and shuffleboard player.  Betty had countless bowling awards, trophies, pins, and badges in her possession.  They all pale in comparison to the friendships she made and kept along the way.  Betty was one of the kindest, most loving people to have walked the Earth and she will be so dearly missed.  She was a loving sister, aunt, and cousin, and the only “Aunt Betty the Great” to many nieces and nephews.   She passed on her loving, kind nature to her only child Amy – along with her stubbornness and resistance to change.  She was over the moon in love with her grandkids.  Betty often said how she was comforted that she knew that Amy would always be taken care of by her husband Sean, and that was so important to her.  
Betty is survived by Amy, Sean, Avery, Lily and Parker Murphy, her siblings Grace Gorman, Rose Ford and her husband Charles, and Thomas Gorman and his wife Judy.  She is also survived by Patty and Ragnar Sparby, Danny and Ali Sparby and their children Ray, Henry, and Bradley (the SparBros), Jenny and Tom, and Erik Sparby (all of Long Island).  Also Einar and Carol Sparby, and their children Tiffany (along with her husband Josh and great grandkids Gianna and Briella of California), Patricia, and Terry, and Leif, Sandra, and Jacob of Florida.  She was so proud of Karl’s Norwegian heritage, and welcomed his family with open arms.  She and Karl had many wonderful friends and memories through the Loyal Order of the Moose #1013.

She was preceded in death by her husband Karl, siblings Joseph, James, and George, parents Grace and Louis, her stepson Jens, and close friends.

A special note needs to be written for those that made her wishes a reality.  Betty despised hospitals and nursing homes, and steadfastly said she wanted to remain at home.  This would not have been possible without JT (Jimmy Ford), Gloria Baker, and Sue Skapik.  These angels made it possible for Betty to have her wishes honored, and went above and beyond in caring for her – from the beginning to her final day.  

Betty didn’t want any sad events after her death, instead asking that everyone gather and remember the fun, happy, good memories of her.  A Celebration of Life will be held at the Binghamton Moose Lodge on Saturday 11/26 from 1p-5p. 

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