Gary Shope was born in Rhode Island almost 77 years ago. He was a Son, a Brother, a Brother-in-Law, an Uncle to his niece and nephew, and a Great Uncle to his great niece and great nephew. 

His father was in the Navy for 30 years, so the family lived in a few places while he and his sister were growing up. They went from living in Rhode Island, to Virginia, to Tennessee, to Kansas City, then on to California, then Japan, and back to Chula Vista, California. 

Gary graduated from UCSD and then went on to the University of Missouri where he earned a Masters in Psychology and a PhD in Philosophy. He really loved this time of his life and would often tell stories about those days. 

After College, he got a job with the Civil Service in Texas, near Austin, and his job took him to places like Germany and the Panama Canal. He really loved Austin but he eventually decided to return to Chula Vista and became a Professor at National University. He also earned a Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology during this time. Later he worked with an agency that helped teenage boys that were getting into trouble and in need of guidance. 

Gary eventually moved to San Marcos to be closer to his sister and her family as his health was beginning to cause issues. Gary loved cats and always had one or two of them during his entire life including the last two cats, Jack and Bailey. Gary was loved and will definitely be greatly missed.