Gary La Fay

Gary A. La Fay was born on May 7, 1941 in Susanville, CA to William La Fay and Edna Rhodes. They later divorced, and William married Irene Hodges; they remained married until their deaths.

Gary attended schools in Redding, CA, Klamath Falls, OR, and Boise, Weiser, Council, McCall, and Meridian, ID. He entered the U. S. Navy in 1959, where he earned his GED. He went to San Diego for boot camp and ended up in Pearl Harbor, (Ford Island), Oahu, Hawaii, as a draftsman. During the construction of the Arizona Memorial, he and his shipmates were island supervisors. Gary felt the memorial was very well done and a fitting tribute to the men that died there.

After his honorable discharge in 1963, he went to work as a draftsman at the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD). While working full-time, he attended Boise State Junior College (BJC) and Boise State University (BSU), using the GI Bill graduating in 1977 with a BA in business with an emphasis in data processing. He continued to work at ITD and in 1967 he started working in the computer room as a computer operator. He went into computer programming in 1969, where he worked until he retired as a system analyst in 1996.

Gary got reacquainted with his wife-to-be Eunice in 1963 after originally having been introduced by his sister Judy. Gary and Eunice were married on August 7, 1964, at the Mountain View Church in Boise, ID in a small wedding ceremony with two friends of the bride and groom as witnesses and the pastor and his wife. A reception was held a week later at the church and featured a beautiful wedding cake made by the groom’s father who was a baker. In August 2024 they celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary.

Gary was involved in various church and community activities. In the church, he served on many different commissions and as treasurer. Gary participated in YMCA Indian Guides with son Kent both as a parent and as a leader in the Long House and other events. Later he also worked with Assistance for Troubled Children, known as Project Patch, raising money for that program.

At home, Gary had many past-times including camping, backpacking, hunting, and fishing. He and his family spent many summer days camping in their pick-up camper. Gary also enjoyed playing golf on various courses with co-workers and friends, was in the Idaho Seniors for six years, and took part in numerous tournaments.

He is survived by his wife Eunice and daughter Michelle. He was preceded in death by his parents, Bill and Irene, his brother Bill, sister Judy, and son Kent. His family would like to thank the health-care professionals who took such kind care of him.

Services under the direction of Cloverdale Funeral Home will be held at a later date to be announced.

In lieu of flowers donations, the family suggests donations be made to Project Patch, or the Idaho Humane Society.