Gary E. Gordon, DVM

1933 - 2026

Gary passed on January 30th, 2026, very peacefully, with his wife Lucia and daughter Shawnee Wildey by his side at Templeton Hospital after a broken leg surgery.

He was born December 19th, 1933, in Oakland, California, when his father worked on the Oakland Bay Bridge. It was during the Depression. After a very short time in Oakland, they moved to Fort Peck, Montana, where he attended first and second grade.

In 1941, they moved to Panama, where his father was employed as an iron worker. Here he attended the third grade.

In 1943, they bought a minimal ranch out of Wolf Point, Montana. They had no electricity or plumbing.Gary attended a country school from fourth to eighth grade. It was two miles from home, and he rode his horse to school. On cold, wintry days, his dad drove him.

When Gary was thirteen, his brother Arlie was born.

As the country school only went to the eighth grade, he had to go to Nashua, Montana for high school. This was a very tough time, as he had to stay away from the ranch home all week and room and board in town.

Gary graduated from high school in 1951, after which he attended Montana State College in Bozeman and Great Falls.

In 1954, he joined the Marine Corps. When he was discharged in 1956, he went back to Montana State in Bozeman. In 1958, he was accepted to veterinary school at Washington State in Pullman, where he graduated in 1962 with his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine.

He then worked as a relief veterinarian in several small animal hospitals in Seattle and for a short time in a meat packing plant in Billings, Montana.

In July of 1963, Gary met his wife Lucia (Lu) in Bozeman, Montana. After a very short courtship, they married on September 14th, 1963, at the Soldier’s Chapel in Gallatin Valley, Montana.

During their first year of marriage, they worked in Glasgow, Montana. Gary practiced in a very busy mixed practice. Then they moved to Havre, Montana, and built a veterinary hospital. This was a mixed-practice country clinic. After five years, the veterinary hospital was sold, and Gary and Lucia moved to Southern California to start a new practice.

In 1981, after twelve years of living in Yorba Linda, California, Gary sold his new practice and moved the family to Paso Robles, California. He continued to see clients, practicing veterinary medicine for an additional twenty years, after which he worked around his home and ranch. During this time, he did extensive missionary work in Haiti, Nicaragua, and Mongolia until his passing in 2026.

Gary is survived by his wife Lucia of 62 years; his brother, Arlie Gordon; his son, Chance Gordon; his daughter, Shawnee Wildey; his grandsons, Tristan Wildey, Noah Wildey, Caleb Wildey, and Sebastian Gordon; and his granddaughters, Courtney Tencati and Samsara Gordon.

Written by his wife: Lucia Gordon

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