Gary Michael Denison Sr.

He was born in East LA (Watts, he liked to mention) where his parents, Charles Gerald Denison and Mary Lucille (Buckley) Denison lived at the time. His name was changed to “Gary” when he started school because that’s the way the teachers pronounced Gerry!

It was not too long that they moved to Hayward, Ca. and then to Salem,Oregon where they lived for awhile. From there they moved to Minnesota where they lived for a short time. After that, they moved to San Francisco where he would get up at the crack of dawn to deliver newspapers on his bicycle, rain or shine. When he was a teen, his parents moved to San Diego. Gary stayed to live with his friend Marty to finish his freshman year at Sacred Heart. He then moved to San Diego (dragging his feet, until he felt the warm ocean and fell in love). He bought a surfboard and hung ten for years.

He attended St Augustine High school for his sophomore and junior year. He graduated from Mission Bay High School in 1958 where he has friends to this day.

He worked for his father as an electricians apprentice. Then he joined the Coast Guard and finished second in his class.

In October, 1960, he married his sweetheart, Gloria Reyes and they had three children, Johnny, Michelle and Robert. Together, they have eight grandchildren and three great grandsons.

Gary loved surfing, fishing, boating, kayaking .(anything water). He loved golfing with his sons, Johnny and Robert. He loved his motorcycles and enjoyed riding with his son Johnny beside him. He looked forward to his daughter, Michelle’s yearly visits, in Laughlin, with her husband, Ronny.

He took up flying. On one trip, on a small plane, the pilot passed out. Gary, with only one hour of flight training, had to think fast to keep from crashing. He had a hold of the “steering” and it took all he had to just not goof it, so the plane could right itself and glide. Soon, the pilot woke up and asked Gary if “He had changed course?!”

Gary worked at SDG&E for 42 years and was a shift supervisor.

 In 1978 he married Virginia and have a son, Gary Michael Denison II whom we have been living with for two years and his wife, Tasha and our granddaughter, Cassidy, in Murrieta, leaving our home in Laughlin, Nev.

We traveled by truck/camper, motorhome, trains, planes and automobiles.

Mexico, Canada, The Northwest and the East Coast and a timeshare in Baja.

He loved Mexico and Mexican people. LOL, he married two.

He bought a lot on the beach in Mexico and built us a small home. He loved going there as much as possible. Hawaii, Caribbean, Spain, Portugal, Monte Carlo, all of Italy, including Venice and part of France. But most of all, he loved traveling up north to visit with his sisters, Sharron Brasesco (may she RIP) who lived in San Francisco and later, Mary Williams and her family that lived in Santa Rosa. Thanksgivings was a fun time. Then going to Washington State to visit with his kids and grandchildren and his brother Gary John Kubalsky (may he RIP) and his beautiful wife, Joyce.

In 2007, he was diagnosed with AML leukemia and in 2008 had a bone marrow transplant at the City Of Hope. His sister, Mary was a perfect match and was his donor.

You couldn’t keep this man down. He still did the plumbing, car maintenance and yard work.

For 14 years he battled the demons. One skin cancer after another. He took care of those that he could see. This one blind sided him. Buried deep down in his liver. No see-um.

He was my rock. The love of my life. My life saver. He was snarky, funny, smart, clean, sweet, tough, soft, gentle and sensitive. But most of all, loving.

Gary was a Big Fish. A natural story teller. He would tell his stories to anyone who would listen, except for his kids! If they heard them once……..his in-laws, now were a good catch.

His motto was “keep um laughing. When he was at City of hope for three months, before a visitor left his room, he liked telling this story:

When I was initially diagnosed at Kaiser (San Diego), my doctor asked me if I had my affairs in order because he would give me a three hour pass to do what I needed to do. While I was gone, the phone rang in my room and a Pilipino nurse picked it  up. My friend, Ray Enama called from Las Vegas and asked for me. The nurse said “Gary gone”!  Ray turned to his wife and said “JC, Jean, Gary died!”  To which the nurse replied “ No! No! Back at three!”

Although your body has left me, You will always be a part of me. May God hold you in the hollow of His hands. I will love you forever. KMA264

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