Gary was born in 1944 to two parents working for the Atomic Energy Commission in New Mexico. His mother decided to drive up to Denver for his birth to be closer to family and medical support if necessary, but his birth certificate would have been quite unusual if his family had remained in Los Alamos.
"Los Alamos was top secret at that time," Gary explains. "The town wasn't supposed to exist, so they had to come up with something creative for kids born in Los Alamos. Because my mom chose to come up to Denver, I ultimately had a normal birth certificate. Had they stayed, my place of birth would have been PO Box 1663, Santa Fe, New Mexico. That was the catch-all for all kids born in Los Alamos."
When Gary was five, he and his mother moved to Denver permanently, and he spent the remainder of his childhood there. Once he grew up, he worked for several years as a teacher before switching to the business world.
"If I could do a replay after all these years, I would have stayed in teaching," Gary says wistfully. "It sounds cliché, but the kids were what I liked."
In his mid-20s, Gary met another young teacher who had ventured west, this time from Pennsylvania. The two would marry and go on many adventures together.
"My wife is funny, savvy and chock full of common sense, which is a good thing in my case," Gary says with a laugh.
They have been married for 55 years, and in that time, they have lived in several states and visited dozens of countries together. Gary recalls one of their favorite trips, a visit to Kenya and Tanzania.
"It was a beautiful place with beautiful people," Gary remembers. "And the animals, of course, were wonderful."
But one safari adventure still sticks in his mind.
"Our van broke down — it wasn't serious, but there was a small engine fire," he says. "Because of that, everyone had to evacuate the vehicle, and we had just passed a pride of lions. Here we are, standing outside the vehicle, wondering if this is such a good idea!"
Now that he's retired, Gary gives a significant amount of his free time to JCPL. He volunteers in Columbine Library's Book Sale Area twice a week and has been a consistent and reliable volunteer for more than 10 years.
"Gary is dependable," Columbine PX Associate Jen says. "He is sure to show up rain or shine. He is friendly and giving of himself to help others."
"He also stays a while and breaks down boxes and recycles materials," Jen continues. "No one asks him to do this. He just takes it upon himself, so no extra work is put on other volunteers."
Operations Manager Gordon adds: "Gary is always here, always friendly and works hard to make sure the Sale Area is in tip-top shape."
Though Gary's reliability is his hallmark, one of the things he likes best about his volunteer role is the element of surprise.
"I like the fact that in the Sale Area, you never know what you're going to get," he says. "Today, for example, when I arrived, there were only a few dozen paperbacks to sort. Then, midway through my shift, we received these huge boxes of racing books. They were so big they won't even fit on the shelves! Another thing I like is the people. It's a volunteer job where I do my own thing, but everyone is very cordial and pleasant to be around."
Working in the Book Sale Area gives Gary great insight into new reads.
"I mostly read novels lately," Gary explains. "Though, recently, I read a book tracing the origins of the English language from the time of Chaucer. William Shakespeare used over 2,000 new words in print for the first time. And those were the days you couldn't look up the spelling or the meaning."
Gary also has an interest in science.
"What's funny is my math ability in school was right next to zero, but I always had a fascination with astrophysics and the universe. One of the strangest things about the universe — if we look up into the night sky and see the North Star, we may be looking at something that no longer exists."
Gary's curiosity and work ethic are both qualities that make him a wonderful volunteer.
Thank you for your volunteer service, Gary!
