

Stop sucking on a prune pit and get going.
About Gary
Born March 24, 1942 in Grand Rapids, Minnesota to Douglas and Edna (Harthan) Anderson, Gary was the oldest of five brothers.
He graduated with honors from Grand Rapids High School in 1960 where Gary was a finalist in the National Merit Scholarship examination and selected to speak at commencement. After high school graduation, he enrolled in Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota and transferred to the University of Minnesota-Duluth where he got his BA degree in Education/English.
He married his first wife Darla Wirta in Minnesota in September 1962 and their only child Kari was born in Hawaiʻi in 1969. Gary and Darla divorced amicably in 1971 but remained life-long friends.
Gary enrolled at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1965 but was drafted and sent to Fort Jackson, South Carolina for basic training (and was a potential candidate for Officer Candidate School). However, Gary contracted meningococcemia the last week of basic and was hospitalized in critical condition for several months. As a result of this experience, Gary was honorably discharged with disability benefits from the United States Army.
Looking for new opportunities, Gary worked in summer stock theater as a set and lighting designer at Lakes Region Playhouse in Laconia, New Hampshire in the summers of 1966 and 1967. This experience would lead to a love of theater and his future career.
He then enrolled at the University of Hawaiʻi-Mānoa with the goal of earning a Master's Degree in Drama and Theatre. Gary became a founding partner in the Hawaiʻi Performing Arts Company (HPAC) — now Mānoa Valley Theatre (MVT) — in 1969. Gary also served as the Artistic Director for the Honolulu Theatre for Youth (HTY) from 1969 to 1970.
In the next couple of years Gary became involved with the San Francisco troop of "Hair" as a stage manager. He traveled around the southern part of the United States with the company before returning to Hawaiʻi to finish his degree. However, he was waylaid by a job opening with "Paradise Found" at the Hilton Hawaiian Village Dome, and never looked back.
In 1976, Gary was invited to be a stage manager at the newly formed Alaska Repertory Theatre and took off for the flip side of Hawaiʻi. This job led to Production Manager and then the Director of Statewide Services, a job that had him flying all over Alaska arranging outreach tours.
Alaska had found a permanent place in his heart. Even after leaving to move back to Hawaiʻi in 1980, Gary would go back every year in the summer (usually with Joan and sometimes Kari) to hang out at "the Mouse Hole", until 2022 when his health made that too difficult.
Gary met Joan Gossett at a cast party at her apartment in 1972. They would eventually hook up in May of 1978 when Gary came down from Alaska to visit TTI in Hawaiʻi. He returned again in September and they fell in love. Joan moved to Alaska to join him in November of that year.
Gary and Joan were married on December 6, 1980 in Honolulu, Hawaiʻi. The two of them enjoyed the beach life with lots of dogs and cats, no kids, living on the North Shore of Oʻahu for the next 33 years.
As Director of Production at the Hawaiʻi Opera Theatre (HOT) from the early '80s through the early '90s, Gary supervised an eclectic and creative team of artistic professionals. Together, they brought classic and modern productions to Hawaiʻi's opera community.
Gary got involved ("dragged in" as Joan would say) with the inaugural Haleʻiwa Arts Festival (HAF) summer event that took place July 18–19, 1998. Joan worked as the Event Coordinator and Gary would become the Executive Director, seeing HAF through its first 15 years.
Gary and Joan moved to the Big Island of Hawaiʻi in 2014, where he "retired" to driving lawn mowers, wrangling pets, and overseeing two lovely vacation rental properties near Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park.
Gary passed away from complications due to bladder cancer and renal failure on September 18, 2024 at the Yukio Okutsu Veterans State Home in Hilo, Hawaiʻi where he departed with military honors.
Gary is survived by his wife of 44 years Joan Gossett; daughter Kari (John) Embree and her mother Darla Anderson; brothers Robert (Fran), Kent (Shahar), Bruce, and Brian (Jo); and many nieces, nephews, and friends.
In lieu of flowers or sympathy gifts, we encourage you to donate to your favorite community arts/theater program or venue.
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Memories
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If you prefer, you may also share privately with Joan and Kari through email: memories@GaryDAnderson.com
Favorites and Facts
Celebration of Life
19-4030 Wright Rd, Volcano, HI 96785
1:30pm – 4pm