Gary Robert Dooley left this world from his home in Grass Valley, California at the age of 81.

He was a Renaissance man with a poet’s heart, an anarchist philosopher, and a genuinely kind soul. While he was never sure if he belonged on this earth, he fomented an empathetic moral code about the world and all of the diversity within it long before that world ever caught up to him.

Gary was born and raised in Mountain View, California, the only son of Maurice Gardiner Dooley and Elizabeth Tode

Dooley, his father being a part of one of the earliest families to cross the Oregon Trail. Gary’s mother inspired a love of music within him, and with that passion he became a talented musician in the San Francisco club scene in his teens to early twenties, spending his time with famous musicians of color as well as trailblazers in the LGBTQ performance community. Prior to being drafted in the early 60s, he was the house and studio drummer for multiple San Francisco based jazz musicians. After being honorably discharged from the Army medic corps, he transitioned from music to art, successfully selling his paintings in galleries throughout the bay area.

Later, Gary worked as a preproduction graphic artist for 10 years in San Jose, eventually marrying Kathleen O’Dea and moving to the Monterey Bay Area where they raised their son Sean before moving to Grass Valley. A proud father and husband, Gary shared his passions with his son, teaching him stop motion, LED wiring, painting styles, prosthetics, and a hundred more specialties before Sean reached nine years old. He reveled in seeing those teachings applied later in his son’s artistic ventures.

Often with his family happily brought along, Gary loved camping & hiking in the Sierras, listening to live music, and, as any Irishman would, telling a good story, whether it be perfectly set around the fire or just over a particularly long phone call. He loved photographing jazz musicians and later painting them, looking to the sky on a good night, and having passionate takes on avant garde movies. He talked to people in line in grocery stores, brought kindness to every stranger he met, and brought innovation, interest, and tireless work ethic to every project he was a part of.

His family will miss him with all of their hearts, and assume, based on his claims since a young age, that he is finally returning to his home in the Pleiades cluster. We hope he has a safe journey, and thank him for all of the love he brought to Earth when he was here.

There will be a life celebration for family and friends this August from the 23rd to the 24th. At Gary’s request, his ashes will be scattered in his beloved Big Trees State Park, where he spent countless years with family enjoying the wilderness, looking at the majesty of the old trees, and gazing beyond to the even older stars.