36 | SUNRAYS
NOVEMBER 2013
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he said he never proposed. He
said, “I don’t believe in divorce.”
She said, “Bingo!”
Good enough proposal! They’ve been
married for 69 years, and rumor has it,
it’s going to last!
Irene (“Renie”) and Ken Gormley, 89 and
93 respectively, are still very much “with
it,” still entertaining, still dancing, and
still very much in love. It shows.
WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
In the early 1940s, President Roosevelt
signed a legislation into law that official-
ly made WAVES (Women Accepted for
Voluntary Emergency Service), a branch
of the U.S. Navy, and from which other
services would follow. This act opened
many doors for women to serve in the
military, and Renie was determined to
walk through one of them.
She would often join her father as he
flew his airplane for the Civil Air Patrol,
so she knew a lot about airplanes, and
loved what she knew about them. Renie
desperately wanted to become a WAVE
and work in aviation, but first she had
to reach her 20th birthday to be eligible.
She was so afraid the war would end
before that happened―it didn’t.
Renie celebrated her 20th birthday in
1944 and, in October of that year, real-
ized her dream, was sworn into WAVES,
and headed to Pensacola, Florida. She
became an airplane mechanic and
earned the rank of Aviation Machinery
Mate. As it turns out, Ken was there
at the same time as an enlisted man
studying to be an aviator.
THE NEXT ACT
One day, Ken’s good buddy, Duffy, point-
ed out a WAVE in a swimsuit, hoping
to set them up on a blind double date.
“That one right over there. But if you
don’t like what you see, you can choose
another one.” Ken’s reply… “Do you think
I’m stupid?”
The date was set, and they went to a
movie on base. Not surprising, they were
late that night― typical guys―but Renie
didn’t especially care. In fact, she was
relieved, thinking, “Now I don’t have to
meet that guy.” No such luck; the men
did show up.
After the movie, the group decided to
walk down the road to the local water-
ing hole, and that’s where Ken blew it…
He asked a personal question, to which
she replied, “None of your business!” and
filed him away. “He’s just another sailor,”
she thought.
THE PRINCESS & THE SAILOR
Renie remembers men as gentlemen back
in those days, but said they still never
missed a chance to whistle at the girls.
Her way of dealing with it was simply to
ignore them, which earned her the nick-
name of “The Princess” for being snob-
bish. She didn’t care; she was focused
on being the best WAVE she could be.
Ken continued to pursue the pretty lady,
and as they got to know each other bet-
ter, she decided he wasn’t “just another
sailor” after all, and they settled into a
promising romance. The walls of their
home tell much of the history of their
journey together. Renie pointed to one
picture in particular of Ken in dress uni-
form and said, “He was so handsome,
wasn’t he?” To which I replied, “Indeed
he was, and still is! In fact, I think he
looks just like Paul Newman in that
The Princess
& the Sailor
By Tina Berryman
Ken and Irene “Renie” Gormley, both World War II veterans and Sun City residents, have been married for 69 years after meet-
ing in the Navy in 1944.
