Obituary

Lucretia Lou Nalan Gourley passed away on October 15th, 2020 in hospice care in the comfort of her own home in Goodyear, Arizona. Born January 18, 1933 in Mason City, Iowa she was the youngest of eight children born to John Patrick Nalan and Marguerite Lucretia Helm.

Lucretia was known by most people as Cretia. She graduated from Mason City High School in May of 1951 and married Philip Leon Gourley in December of that year. Together they had three sons: Chris Leon Gourley born in 1953, Gregg Elry Gourley born in 1956, and Brett John Gourley born in 1959.

Cretia’s husband, Phil, was in the Air Force, so the family moved every few years to a new home and formed new friendships. They lived in Anchorage, Alaska; St. Paul, Minnesota; Boone, Iowa; Topeka, Kansas; Omaha, Nebraska; and enjoyed a six-year stint on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. After retiring from the Air Force, the family returned to Iowa, settling in Ames in 1973. In 1979, Phil and Cretia moved to Yuma, Arizona. During their years in Yuma, Cretia coordinated recreational athletics for Department of Defense personnel at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground. From 1995 to 2003, Cretia and Phil spent several months of the year on the road, traveling across the US in their RV. They moved to Goodyear, Arizona in 2004.

Cretia loved playing cards and bingo, working puzzles, traveling across North America, and teasing you. One of the things she enjoyed most was beating you in cribbage. She won the Gourley Cribbage Tournament in 1993 and 2000. In Hawaii she took up ceramics and while in Yuma, she took up the hobby of stamping and card-making. Later, in Goodyear, she transferred her stamping and card-making skills into making scrapbooks. From 2004 to 2020, she lived in the Pebblecreek Resort Community in Goodyear where she was active in many of the social and recreational opportunities offered there.

Cretia was preceded in death by her husband, Phil, in 2004, and her son, Gregg, in 2018; her parents and her seven siblings and their spouses. Her siblings included Ruth (John Dorsey, Thomas Webb), Merilayne (Milton Ferrier, Melvin Muth), John “Bud” Nalan, Clayton “Squirt” (Pauline) Nalan, Valoyce (Walt Cooper), Jerry Nalan, and Norvard “Snip” Nalan.

Cretia is survived by sons Chris and Brett; Chris’s wife Kathy and Gregg’s widow Mary Ann Lang; Kimberly Hanley; grandchildren Jonathan and Ryan Gourley and Brooke Hanley. She is also survived by two of her sisters-in-law: Barbara Nalan and Verna Gourley as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

The time of services has yet to be determined. In lieu of flowers Cretia desired to have donations made to:

Cancer Research Institute, Inc. 29 Broadway Floor 4 New York, NY 10006-3111