Barbara Aylward

Barbara Gorman Aylward passed away peacefully July 9, 2019 at her home in Livermore, CA following a brief illness. She was born June 2, 1935 to William Basil Gorman and Esther Kinsley Gorman of the Bronx, New York City and was the youngest of four children. The Gormans moved to suburban Westchester County in the early 1940s but shortly after, Barbara’s mother died. Her father remarried Patricia McGowan, in whom the children gained a new Mom and then two adored younger siblings. Barbara loved the water from an early age, eagerly swimming in Long Island Sound the summer she turned 1! She became an accomplished diver and graduated from Rye High School. She went on to Tufts University and received her BS from Tufts/Bouve-Boston School of Physical Education and Physical Therapy in 1957. While working as a Physical Therapist at Boston Children’s Hospital, she met Walter Joseph Aylward of Medford MA and they married in 1959. They moved to California, living in San Francisco and Santa Barbara before settling in Fremont where the Aylwards would live for more than 50 years. As Walt established his law practice, Barb worked as a PT for UCSF, Stanford Children’s Hospital and several practices in Fremont. Barb and Walt had four children and she was the master of the family’s busy schedule. She served as a leader in PTA as well as for several swim and soccer teams, while also wrangling a menagerie of pets over the years including a dog, cats, fish, turtles, rabbits, a hamster, a parakeet and an iguana! The door to the Aylward home in California was always open, as had been the Gorman family home in Rye. As the kids grew, Barb and Walt hosted club meetings and homecoming skit rehearsals, welcomed an exchange student, foreign soccer players, adopted nieces and nephews eager to try on the West coast and provided a place for dozens of young adults to stopover as they settled into life. Soon grandchildren energized the house. Walt and Barb enjoyed traveling to Germany, Ireland, Scotland, Japan and Hong Kong. Barb kept her PT license for 53 years, working vacation relief for practices in town, and found it a great way to stay connected to friends and the career she loved. Her Catholic faith steadied Barb throughout her life. She was a Eucharistic Minister at St Joseph Church and was involved with the Women of St Joseph. After Walt’s death in 1995, Barb shifted her energy to chair the Committee for Restoration of Mission San Jose, completing a $1.25 million dollar seismic retrofit of one of the original adobe buildings from the early 1800’s. She led Docent tours at the Mission for over 28 years and spent many years as the Docent Coordinator. About 10 years ago, Barb was invited by a friend who attended St Charles Borromeo in Livermore to join her for a lecture at the Women In God’s Spirit (WINGS) Group. As she got to know the community, she also found a wonderful retirement apartment complex at Heritage Estates and made the move from Fremont to Livermore in 2016. Not surprising to anyone, Barb was active in WINGS as the meeting moderator and at Heritage as a member of the social committee, coordinating the address list and handling 'chief bartender' duties for Heritage social events! Barbara is survived by her Sisters, Joan Carey, Patricia (John) Richardson; Brother, Peter (Linda) Gorman and Sister-in-Law Betty Jane Gorman (Bill, deceased); Children: Kathleen (Lyle) Langan, Peter Aylward, Aileen (Brad) Hammar and Daughter-In-Law Florence Aylward (Michael, deceased); Grandchildren: Jason, Jeannea, James (Melissa), and Fiona; Great Grandchildren: Isac Jr, Santiago, Luca and Jillian; exchange student Florian (Bettina); dozens of nieces and nephews, other relatives and dear friends. Barbara was preceded in death by her husband Walter, son Michael, brother Bill and sister Dorothy. A Mass of Christian Burial will be at 11 am Wednesday August 14th at St Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, 1315 Lomitas Ave, Livermore, CA 94550 Contributions can be made to the following groups (please include the specific cause and “Barbara Aylward” on the memo line) or to one of your own choice: Community Interfaith Student Support Program (CISSP) at St Charles Borromeo Catholic Church in Livermore which provides backpacks of school supplies and a gift card for shoes to children and youth. 1315 Lomitas Ave, Livermore, CA 94550 Sister John Marie’s Pantry at St Joseph Catholic Church in Fremont provides food and support to meet concrete needs for those of all ages. PO Box 3276 Fremont, CA 94539 SAVE (Safe Alternatives to Violent Environments) https://save-dv.org/ then click on the link to SUPPORT SAVE FAMILIES! to support families facing domestic violence situations.