Gary Dale

Gary Dale
08/05/1941 - 10/06/2024
Gary Dale was born in Oklahoma, August of 1941, and when he was 10 days old his parents moved west to California. He was raised in San Francisco and graduated from Lowell High School. Shortly upon graduation, he became an apprentice carpenter and then 8 years later, a Millbrae and then San Francisco Fire Fighter. He had many stories of the fires he fought and when the Loma Prieta Earthquake struck, he was called to duty and did not return home for 4 days. He retired as a Battalion Chief in 1997 and traveled the world to many places with his wife. Well into retirement, he found a second act in music and learned to play the banjo, ukulele and sang vocals on many occasions with the San Francisco Banjo Band. His greatest joy though, was spent with his granddaughter, who he was able to watch graduate from college and start her career. He was diagnosed with Multiple Myeloma in 2016 and most recently Leukemia. He was hoping that chemotherapy would have given him more time, but it was not to be. Gary passed away on October 6th, 2024, in Brentwood, CA, and is survived by his wife, Margaret; his sons, Kevin, Mike (Julie) and John; granddaughter, Hannah; sisters, Karen Sola and Donna Elliot (Bob); and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his mother, Helen; and father, Bill.