Lorain County veteran receives military honors his funeral lacked

AMHERST — Nearly two months after he was laid to rest, Kenneth Gorbey received full military honors to commemorate his service in the U.S. Navy on Saturday. Gorbey died on Jan. 10 at the age of 84 at Lorain-Mercy Hospital and was buried on Jan. 19, but no military honor guard was available at the time to provide a three volley salute. Gorbey had served in the U.S. Navy from 1957 until 1963. His daughter, Suzette Gorbey-Latin, said that her father not receiving recognition for his service at the burial did not sit right with her, and she took to Facebook to ask a favor; for any veterans associations to help her honor his service. "I told my husband, I just couldn't let this go," Gorbey-Latin said. The Amherst Veterans Military Honor Guard and its commander, Clark Bruner, answered the call, joining the Gorbey family and dozens of other veterans and residents on Saturday at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Lorain County in Amherst to honor Kenneth Gorbey's service. Honor guard members John Gelenius and Norm Miller led a ceremony in Gorbey's honor and folded a flag, which was given to his wife, Patricia Gorbey. "The Amherst Veterans Military Honor Guard is here assembled to pay a lasting tribute of respect to our departed comrade," Gelenius said. "When the call of our country was heard, comrade Kenneth Gorbey answered. The self was forgotten for the cause of the greater good. As a great man he marched away, with an abiding faith in his God, his country and his flag." Then, the honor guard performed the three-volley salute which had been missing from Gorbey's funeral. As she addressed the crowd which had shown up to honor her father, Gorbey-Latin was moved to tears. "On the post that I made, I didn't mention my dad's name," Gorbey-Latin said. "I spoke to a friend and co-worker and she said 'us veterans show up for one another.' You veterans, men and women, all showed up, you didn't know any of our names, but you stood for our freedom and you did what you did out of love. Everything begins with love in a community, not knowing each other's names but being kind and loving to one another and taking care of each other… I just want to say thank you from my family to the honor guard and all of you for showing up." In that Facebook post, Gorbey-Latin outlined a long history of military service in her family, including all seven of her uncles on her dad's side, two of her brothers and her son, Seyveon Plaza, who is in the U.S. Navy.. In addition to his military service, Gorbey-Latin said that her father was the owner of the Gorbey and Sons Construction Company and a selfless and loving father. "He was the most humble man that you can ever imagine," she said. "He was kind, he was loving … if you went to him and said my roof needs fixed but I ain't got the money, he'd fix it for you. He drove to disasters and helped. He only owned two pairs of jeans throughout his life, but he made sure his family was taken care of." Gorbey-Latin said that the turnout at the service honoring her father showed what a strong community Lorain County has, particularly among its veterans. "For people not to know someone's name … that's how love starts," she said. "You show up for one another, you show a little bit of kindness to one another." Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com.