Gary Boothe

Gary W. Boothe, 74, of Thermopolis, Wyo., passed away July 11, 2017, after complications from heart surgery.

Born in Kansas July 23, 1942, into a family of six children, Gary grew up in Wichita riding his bike and fishing in the river with his buddies. He was very loyal to his mother, Wanda Riffel, and did odd jobs to supplement the family income. He worked at a Ford/Mercury dealership and began to develop an aptitude for all things mechanical.

He joined the Navy in 1964 and served stateside in Corpus Christi until December of 1967. He was part of the Training Squadron VT-29 as an Aviation Radial Engine Mechanic. It was a formative time for our country as well as a personal one for Gary in terms of career options and friendships.

Gary married Patricia Hein in Corpus Christi. Children, Christy and Jason, were eventually added to the mix. A fascination with the west and job possibilities propelled Gary and his family to move to Denver in 1972. Gary fine-tuned his trade as a machinist in a range of government jobs – as a tool and die maker at the Denver Mint and as a laboratory machinist in a research lab at the Denver Federal Center. Pat and Gary went their separate ways.

He moved to Wyoming in the mid 80's with a new step family and wife Judy Kincaid, settling in Casper to work as a power plant mechanic for the Bureau of Reclamation. Gary next sought adventure and employment in Alaska where he worked in a hydroelectric plant out of Juneau for 3 years. He came back to Wyoming, settling in Thermopolis, finishing his career at Boysen Dam. In the meantime, Judy had moved back to Denver.

Gary loved everything west, from reading about it to experiencing it. He was an avid hunter (bow, rifle, black powder) and fisherman. He lived to camp and white water raft with friends and family. He was thrilled to have owned and ridden a couple of Harleys. Retirement only meant more time for adventure. Gary spent seven months on a Pacific tour as an engineer on a wooden yacht, visiting many old WWII battle sites he had only read about before. Family was important to Gary and he loved spending time with his kids and being Grandpa Gary. He shared his passion for the outdoors with all those he connected with.

Gary is survived by his loving partner, Margie Jackson of Thermopolis; son, Jason Boothe; daughter, Christy Gunn of Farmerville,Texas; sisters, Ginger (Tony) Settle and Sandy (Al) Vargas of Phoenix, Ariz.; brother, Don Boothe of Kingman, Ariz.; grandchildren, Jacob (Lindsey) Glass, Kayla Boothe, Dillon Boothe and Maddison Gunn; and 4 great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his mother, Wanda Riffel; toddler brother, David Boothe; and former girlfriend, PJ Career. Celebration of Gary's life will be held at a later date.