Jack Dale Gassaway

Jack Dale Gassaway, age 91, passed away in his home on December 2,

2025 after a long and fulfilling life. He was born November 5, 1934 in Columbus, Kansas to Lawrence

and Mary Gassaway.

Prior to WWII his family packed up the pickup truck and moved to California, accompanied by another

family. They initially settled in the Fairfax area of Bakersfield and moved to Cummings Valley

after a couple of years. Jack was a resident of Tehachapi for the rest of his life.

Jack attended the old Cummings Valley Elementary School on Pelliser Road and graduated from

Tehachapi Valley Union High School in 1953. He then enlisted in the US Army, serving two years of

active duty at Fort Sill, Oklahoma. Upon returning to Tehachapi he worked at Monolith Portland

Cement Co. He went on to work at California Dept of Corrections as a Correctional Officer. After

earning his teaching credential he became a Vocational Instructor, teaching inmates woodworking and

cabinet making. He was an artist when it came to working with wood, able to build anything from

furniture to a house.

He loved the outdoors, was an avid deer and upland game hunter and trout fished in the Eastern

Sierra. He looked forward to spending time at deer camp in the Bears Ears in Utah with his lifelong

hunting friends.

He liked to explore new places and return to familiar ones. In his later years he enjoyed going to

Laughlin, Nevada, still drove himself there very recently to play the slots and eat buffet.

Jack is survived by his son Tim Gassaway and wife Linda, brother Jerry Gassaway and wife Karen and

stepdaughters Deborah Smith and Cynthia Anderson. He was preceded in death by his parents,

Lawrence and Mary Gassaway, his wife Dorothy Gassaway, his former wife Patricia Gassaway, daughter

Cindi Gassaway, and brothers Robert and Billy Gassaway.

A memorial service be held on February 5, 2026, at 11:00am. A reception will follow.

Wood Family Funeral Service is in charge of arrangements