Geary Allen McCandless

St. George

St. George, Utah - Geary Allen McCandless, 86, passed away January 4, 2017. He was born November 14, 1930 in Huntington, Utah to William Raymond and Lauretta Fawn Geary McCandless. He served in the Armed Forces and received his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees at BYU and later his PhD in Audiology at Wayne State University. In 1953 he married Shirley Card and they had five sons. He married Marsha Futterman Simons in 1986. They both worked at the University of Utah until 1999 when they retired to St. George, Utah. In 2000, they joined Bloomington Country Club where they made amazing friends who shared their love of golf, travel and fun.

Geary had a distinguished career in Audiology spanning over 40 years. He had several faculty and administrative appointments, including Assoc. Prof. at the University of Colorado Medical School; Head of Audiology, Division of Otolaryngology at University of Utah; Associate Dean and Interim Dean of the College of Health and Acting Chair, Department of Communication Disorders at the University of Utah and Professor Emeritus at University of Utah. He has extensive consulting experience, including the fields of hearing aid research, cochlear implants, auditory diagnostic testing, FAA and Veteran's Administration.

He has published more than 90 articles and 40 book chapters and presented over 200 invited lectures. He pioneered development of computerized tests for the diagnosis of hearing loss, developed standards for diagnosing middle ear disease, and designed hearing aid prescription methods which are still in use today. Geary has served on a variety of editorial boards, President of American Auditory Society, and received career honors including Fellow of the American Speech-Language Hearing Assoc. (ASHA) and the American Academy of Audiology, Outstanding Faculty Scholar at the University of Utah, and was selected as the Utah Speech-Language Hearing Association nominee for the Frank R. Kleffner Clinical Career Award of ASHA.

In addition to an extraordinary professional life, he had extensive hobbies. They included hiking, motorcycling, running (over 25 marathons), boating, kayaking, golfing, tennis, cycling and flying. Geary was an accomplished landscape painter and he also had a passion for archeology. He loved to travel and with Marsha visited more than 60 countries.

He is survived by his wife, Marsha; children: Allen (Cindy), Raymond (Laura), Phillip (LiLee), Stuart (Peggy) and Russell (Lesley); step-children: Andrew Simons (Jennifer) and Julie Simons Gomez (JR); 14 grandchildren and 7 great-grandchildren; siblings: LaRae Kinder (Gale, deceased), Jean Bird (Vernon, deceased). He was preceded in death by his parents, Ray and Fawn McCandless and brother, William "Ted" (Carolyn) McCandless.

In lieu of funeral services, there will be a celebration of life at a date to be determined. The family wishes to thank the Southern Utah Veteran's Home for their loving care. Arrangements entrusted to the care of Metcalf Mortuary, 435-673-4221. For condolences, full obituary, and funeral listings please visit our website www.metcalfmortuary.com.

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Published by Spectrum & Daily News on Jan. 10, 2017.

Memories and Condolences
for Geary McCandless

Sponsored by Metcalf Mortuary - St. George.

3 Entries

Cindy Lehnig

October 18, 2024

Marsha, I just happened to find Geary's obituary as I looked for old friends online today. I worked for Geary as his Administrative Administrator at the U. of U. College of Health after the woman who had that position retired back in 1995 or 96. I loved Geary, and loved working for him. Shortly after he left his position as Dean, my husband passed away, and I left my position as well. However, I will never forget how smart, kind, and caring both you and Geary were to me. He was a wonderful friend, employer, and man. Cindy Lehnig

Wayne Askew

April 14, 2017

Marsha:
Sharon and I just learned of Gary's passing, our belated sympathy. We have fond memories of Gary, a great mentor.
Wayne and Sharon Askew

Curtis and Tana Whicker

February 6, 2017

Marsha - we were so sorry to learn of Geary's passing. Our son and and daughter-in-law have just applied to grad school at the U of U (audiology and speech, just like us), so we did a little Internet sleuthing to see which faculty members were still at the communication disorders department. When we googled your names, we came across Geary's obituary. We're truly sorry for your loss.

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