Gary Pennock

Gary David Pennock passed away peacefully on July 31, 2017, in Baker City, Oregon, at the age of 77.

Gary was born May 20, 1940 in Los Angeles, California, to Herb and Zelda (Erbeck) Pennock. Gary's mother was a nurse, and during her training course in 1932 she befriended Naomi Becker, who would later become Naomi Finch and have amongst her four children a daughter named Martha Sue (Marty). So it was that Gary knew Marty for years before they fell in love, but fall in love they did. They were married on April 23, 1966, and lived in Los Angeles for a time before moving to Sacramento, California. They were blessed with two wonderful children who brought Gary great joy: a son, Brian David, born in 1969, and a daughter, Jannine Leigh, born in 1973.

Prior to marrying Marty, Gary enlisted and served three years in the United States Army as a military policeman. Because of his experience as an MP, Gary made a career in retail sales security, and at the high point of his work, was a responsible for security oversight at multiple Raley's Supermarkets in northern California.

The work closest to his heart, however, was the many hundreds, if not thousands of hours he volunteered as a living historian, interpreting the life soldiers in the American Civil War. Gary was one of four founding members of the National Civil War Association (NCWA), a non-profit organization based in California. Dedicated to preserving Civil War-era history and interpreting it for the public, the NCWA was established in 1983 and is thriving today, in no small part because of Gary's dedication to it for nearly 20 years.

In 2000, Gary and Marty moved to Killeen, Texas, to be near their daughter and her family. Gary continued to participate in civil war reenactments there, but in 2006 he suffered multiple strokes, from which he never fully recovered. In 2010, Gary and Marty moved to Richland, Oregon, to share a home with their son Brian and his family. Gary moved to Meadowbrook Place in 2016, for assisted care, and remained there until his death. In his final days, Gary was lovingly watched over by Heart-n-Home Hospice caregivers, for which the family is immensely grateful.

Gary is survived by his wife, Marty Pennock, of New Bridge, Oregon; son Brian (Deanna) Pennock, also of New Bridge; daughter Jannine (Mark) Mayer of Killeen, Texas; daughter-in-love Helga (Matthias) Schröck of Aichach, Germany; grandchildren Julia, Thomas, Edison and Hazel; sister Carol (Wayne) Elland of Santa Clara, California; and numerous nieces and nephews.

Gary was preceded in death by his parents, Herb and Zelda Pennock.

At Gary's request, there will be no formal memorial service. In lieu of flowers, the family wishes that donations be made in Gary's name to the Civil War Preservation Trust (www.civilwar.org)to help preserve Civil War battlefield history or to your local hospice provider through Tami's Pine Valley Funeral Home & Cremation Services PO Box 543 Halfway, Oregon 97834.  On line condolences may be shared at www.tamispinevalleyfuneralhome.com. 

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