Gary Gene Roe

Local writer bites the dust…again.

Gary G. Roe of Herriman, Utah, died on Sept 1, 2025. He was 80 years old. He was born June 28, 1945, in Gooding, Idaho, to John Lomax and Phyllis Corbridge. He married Kathleen (Kass) Davis in the Salt Lake City Temple of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, November 23, 1966. She passed away on May 26, 2002, after 36 years of joyous marriage.

Born in Gooding, he moved first to Salt Lake City, where he began school at the old Lafayette Elementary, a couple of blocks from the Salt Lake Temple. A few short years later, he moved to Provo. He lived in Provo until the age of 19, when he served a two-year mission in the Southwest British Mission. He took great pride in those years, for he not only fulfilled his mission. He was chosen to participate in the Mission Choir. He loved the memories of traveling to choir concerts in London, where they made several recordings, including a non-Mormon backup for a French group. He cherished the memories of traveling to other missions.

Upon returning to Provo and re-attending BYU, he met up again with the girl who waited for him, Kass, and they were married two short months later. They moved to Mesa, Arizona, where Gary started his career. Gary was proud to be the fourth generation in his family to be in the newspaper business. His great-grandfather, Watkin Roe, was a publisher; his grandfather, John Lewis Roe, was a publisher; his father, John Lomax Roe, decided to break with the rest and become a "master" printer in the old hot metal process; and Gary had been a publisher several times himself.

He started in Mesa, Arizona, working for Basha's in the printing department, and then moved back to Provo, where he fulfilled a printing apprenticeship at the "old" Daily Herald. From there he moved back to Payson, Arizona, where he worked in all phases of a weekly newspaper. He was not satisfied with his career and sought employment in Lake Tahoe at the Tahoe Daily Tribune. He eventually transferred to the north shore of the lake to sell advertising.

Always looking for something better, he bought the newspaper at Page, Arizona. In the tough economy of the times, he nevertheless sold it two years later for three times what he bought it for. Wherefore, he returned to Tahoe as the Advertising Director. He eventually was in charge of the Sierra Sun (Truckee) and the Tahoe World in Tahoe City.

Seeing that the education opportunities for his children were limited in Tahoe, he sought a transfer to Nampa, Idaho. He worked there for eight years. He took a temporary break to work as a stockbroker for a balance of time, until the economy went down again; plus he didn't like being a "shark". Returning to the newspaper business, he worked at the Messenger-Index as a publisher in Emmett, Idaho. He sought a transfer to St George, Utah, where he worked for many years at the Daily Spectrum. He found this to be a dream come true, having always wanted to live amongst the red rocks.

Gary's career was cut short when he suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in 1994. Unlike most people who suffer from this, he survived. In Gary's own words, he died but came back to life. He stated that Heavenly Father gave His permission to return to his family. This rather startled the medical staff at LDS Hospital, who had cautioned the family that people don't typically recover from that type of injury. They said most people go to a nursing home and then die within a few months, but Gary did not. Gary had to relearn everything and was able to learn right alongside his first grandchild as they celebrated their milestones together.

For twenty years, he participated in various amateur plays. Even after his cerebral hemorrhage, he sought a part in the Christmas Carrol.

Unable to go back to the newspaper business, he took on the task of writing novels on a more serious level. He wrote and had published a total of seven books, some in hardback and others on Amazon, until his death.

One of his greatest hobbies was the different gardens that he and Kass planted in their different homes. Active in politics throughout his life, he never changed his brand from before the cerebral hemorrhage, unlike many who suffer life-changing events. Gary was a strong conservative.

Gary and Kass moved to Camarillo, California, where the job market was more suited for Kass's talents. She worked setting up trade shows until she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and died a short time later. After moving back to Cedar City, where Kass was buried, he spent three months in Europe for the eighth time. He was able to stay with his son, Shad, and his family in Denmark and traveled around to different locales, enjoying a different lifestyle. He especially enjoyed going to Northern Ireland and visiting the River Roe and the Roe State Park.

A lifelong member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, he enjoyed different assignments and friends he made, through over thirty wards. He served in different callings, including a church custodian and as a member of the bishopric.

His two children, Shad O'Hara-Nation Roe, and Summer O' Scarlet Roe, were the joy of his and his wife, Kass's lives. They brought years of enjoyment from baseball to swimming, and they enjoyed watching them grow and become parents themselves. Gary had the unique opportunity to spend several years living with all four of his great-grandchildren. They brought him tremendous joy and kept him young for many years.

Survivors include his son, Shad O Roe (Anita) and his daughters, Christina and Sandra of Denmark; Summer Miller and her four children (Zachary, Bailey Dalton, Kaitlyn, and Jacob Miller); and four great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Kathleen, his parents, and two siblings.

Graveside services will be on Monday, September 8, 2025, at 11:00 a.m. at the Cedar City Cemetery, 685 North Main Street, Cedar City, Utah.

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