Gary was born in Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin as the fourth child of seven to Earl and Iola Shaw. After graduating from Lincoln High School in 1964, Gary enlisted in the United States Navy. He fought in the Vietnam War aboard the USS England during which time he was awarded the National Defense Service Medal, a Navy Unit Commendation Ribbon and the Vietnam Service Medal with two bronze stars. Gary attended California State Polytechnic University where he earned a Bachelor of Science with Honors in Information Technology and Data Processing.
Gary was an avid outdoors man who loved to hunt, fish, camp, hike, and ride horses. He fed this passion for the outdoors through volunteer activities with the Boy Scouts of America, working on the Chelan Dam re-licensing team and participation in the Lake Chelan Sportsman Association where he was honored as the sportsperson of the year in 2001.
Gary placed high value on work and performing at a high level in whatever role he currently held in his professional life. This work ethic led to over 25 years’ experience in mid- and senior-level management positions in which he had responsibilities entailing executive compensation and recruitment, executive development and succession planning, as well as operational responsibilities for strategic planning, human resources, information technology and industrial safety and security. He held positions in companies across various industry sectors such as food processing, manufacturing, energy production, financial services and energy research and development working for companies such as Simplot, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory and Washington Public Power Supply System.
Gary was married to Marilyn Bergdorf for 14 years together they had three sons. He was also married to Lani Joyce for 32 years. He is survived by Marilyn, Lani, his sons, Timothy and Sean, his siblings, Sherry, Terry and Kimm, as well as 6 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, his oldest son, Anthony, and his siblings Sheila, Sharon, and Larry.
Gary will always be remembered as a loving father, a kind and caring brother, a son, mentor, and friend. He was a man who always believed that if it was broke, he could fix it. He will be known as a man ahead of his time, starting a group called Get Together whose mission was to provide a safe environment for adults to meet long before Match.com. He loved getting to know people, finding out what made them tick, often offering his time and knowledge to help them better themselves. His life was a testament of courage, resilience, and never giving up. If you care to honor Gary with a memorial donation, please send it to the Wounded Warrior Project.