Gary Lynn Bostwick

Gary Lynn Bostwick, whose life carried him from Casper, Wyoming, to the forefront of First Amendment law, died on December 6, 2025, in Medford, Oregon. He was 84. He passed away surrounded by family, with the Beatles' "Let It Be" album playing softly. Gary is survived by his wife, Cynthia Rosmann; his brother, Gayle (Joie Bostwick); his children, Kevin (Jennifer White), Alyssa (Wayne Rawley), Melissa (Chris Hunter), Marianne, and Robbie; and seven grandchildren—Carter, Stella, Weston, Grayson, Gwen, Raymond, and Aurora.

Born April 4, 1941, in Wichita, Kansas, Gary grew up in Casper, Wyoming, where his father worked at the oil refinery, and Gary learned his way around horses. He swept floors at a local barbershop, played second base in American Legion baseball, and later formed the second baseman-shortstop combination with classmate Dick Cheney on his high school team. Wyoming remained central to his identity throughout his life.

Gary's path widened when he was accepted into Northwestern University's "Cherubs" program in Chicago, an experience that changed the trajectory of his life and led him back there for college. He graduated with a degree in science and engineering and was hired by Ford Motor Company, where he worked on early development efforts for the car that became the Mustang.

Inspired by President John F. Kennedy's call to service, Gary joined the Peace Corps in 1963 and moved to Bolivia, working in community development and teaching engineering in La Paz. During the 1964 coup, soldiers entered the building where he taught, prompting a dramatic escape through a second-story window and across the rooftops. Gary would later serve a second Peace Corps tour in Panama City.

Between and beyond those chapters, Gary served as a U.S. Army artillery lieutenant in Kassel, Germany, stationed along the East German border during the Cold War, serving as a battery commander of atomic-delivery howitzers. He later lived with his family in Stuttgart, Germany, where he founded a company that translates and edits technical publications across Europe. Fluent in Spanish and German, he brought ease and curiosity to every culture he encountered.

Always eager for new challenges, Gary entered UC Berkeley's law school in the mid-1970s, earning both a J.D. and a Master of Public Policy. At Boalt Hall, he served as Articles Editor of the California Law Review and authored "A Taxonomy of Privacy," a student note later cited by the California Supreme Court, scholars, and high courts abroad.

He clerked for the Honorable Fred J. Cassibry on the federal bench in Louisiana, who became both mentor and friend—and from whom Gary learned, among other things, how to tell jokes in a Cajun accent, a skill he deployed often and enthusiastically.

Gary moved to Los Angeles in the late 1970s, launching a distinguished legal career that would place him among the nation's most respected media and First Amendment lawyers. In recognition of his work, he was later named Southern California's "First Amendment Lawyer of the Year." He tried more than seventy cases, handled significant appellate work, and represented newspapers, television networks, motion picture studios, and individual journalists.

His work included representing Dr. Jeffrey MacDonald and was a primary figure in a book about MacDonald by famous journalist Janet Malcom titled "The Journalist and the Murderer." Years later, Gary defended Malcolm in her successful defense before the U.S. Supreme Court in Masson v. The New Yorker. Gary wrote widely on media law, taught at Loyola, Southwestern, USC's Annenberg School, and UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism. Bostwick was elected a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a rare honor reserved for lawyers of exceptional skill and integrity. He took particular pride in his service on the Emil Gumpert Award Committee, including a memorable year when the committee traveled to South Dakota to recognize Dakota Plains Legal Services for its work serving Native communities.

Over the years, Gary practiced at Manatt Phelps & Phillips; co-founded Bostwick & Hoffman with civil rights lawyer Paul Hoffman; joined Davis Wright Tremaine; became a founding pillar of the media and entertainment practice at Sheppard Mullin; and later formed Bostwick & Jassy with one of his mentees. The firm's first new client was Theodore "Ted" Kaczynski. Yes, the Unabomber. The Ninth Circuit appointed an attorney to assist Kaczynski on a First Amendment issue. He argued three times before the U.S. Supreme Court, became a certified appellate specialist, and annually co-authored the Wyoming chapter of the Media Law Resource Center's libel defense treatise, proudly maintaining his Wyoming bar membership as a tie to home.

Gary lived in Santa Monica for many years and was a devoted Dodgers fan, holding cherished seats at Dodger Stadium for decades—seats he received from baseball great and former client Steve Garvey. He traveled widely, loved theater, opera, ballet, museums, political cartoons, and language in all its forms. He continued to own cattle and returned to Wyoming for roundups, bringing a cowboy's sensibility to his life as a big-city lawyer.

In 2015, Gary and Cindy purchased the McCloud Hotel near Mount Shasta, where he continued practicing law while also pitching in wherever needed—sometimes even washing dishes. He might also be found in the hotel lobby, playing chess with a grandchild, or stoking the fire, deep in conversation with friends old and new. The couple later moved to Ashland, Oregon, where they spent Gary's final year together.

Known for his folksy charm, quick wit, and commanding presence, Gary could enthrall a jury, correct a judge without flinching, and mentor young lawyers with generosity and care. He was both cowboy and scholar, plainspoken and poetic—a true renaissance man who could discuss nearly any topic in three languages (four, if you count the Cajun dialect), calculate the trajectory of an artillery shell, and write poetry critiquing America's military exploits. An engineer, soldier, Peace Corps volunteer, poet, lawyer, mentor, father, grandfather, uncle, and friend, Gary lived with dignity and principle, leaving the world a richer, more interesting place. He will be remembered with deep affection and gratitude by all who knew him.

FINIS

by e.e.cummings

OVER silent waters day descending night ascending floods the gentle glory of the sunset In a golden greeting splendidly to westward as pale twilight trembles into Darkness comes the last light’s gracious exhortation Lifting up to peace so when life shall falter standing on the shores of the eternal god May I behold my sunset Flooding over silent waters

The family will gather in McCloud in March to remember Gary. A public celebration of life will take place in Los Angeles in April, his birth month. Please check back for details.