Gary Brooks Earl, 81

April 12, 1939 – April 7, 2020

Wray, Colo.

Gary Brooks Earl, a Colorado farmer and rancher, died in Porter Hospital on April 7, 2020. He died of kidney failure, after a few weeks in the hospital.

Gary was born in Lamar, Colo., on April 12, 1939, to Thelma Lee Miller Earl and Kenneth Brooks. Gary’s father passed away when he was 6 months old. When Gary was 3 years old, his mother married Carl Earl. Carl adopted Gary and his name became Gary Brooks Earl.

He grew up in the small community of McClave, Colo., where he exceled in sports and FFA. He also loved farming on the family ranch. He received an associate’s degree in animal science at Lamar Community College, where he participated on the livestock judging team. He continued judging livestock when he went to Colorado State University. Here, he met Nancy Pickering of Kremmling, Colo. They were married in December of 1962. Six months later, Gary joined the National Guard and trained at Fort Sill, Okla., for six months; he completed six years of service. When he returned from his training, Gary and Nancy began their own farming/ranching operation in McClave. Monty was born in 1965, Brenda in 1967, Mindy in 1971. The family worked together to support the farm, which Gary loved. He built a cattle feedlot, raised and fattened lambs, and farmed alfalfa, wheat, milo and corn. Gary was also active in the community, serving on the school board, ASC committee and others. During these years, he loved supporting his kids with their 4-H and FFA projects. He loved helping his children select their show steers, sometimes from his own herd. After several county champions and good showings at the state fair, we knew he was pretty good at selecting the right ones. His passion may have gone too far when Gary removed the air conditioning unit from the house to put in the barn for the 4-H steers!

In 1993, Gary and Nancy sold the farm in McClave and moved to Wray, Colo. Sadly, also in 1993, they lost their daughter, Brenda Earl MacLennan, in a horse accident. In Wray, he ranched and farmed for the next 27 years. After the sale of that property, Gary kept active helping other farmers. He was active in the Wray Lion’s Club. He made many friends and very much enjoyed the Wray community.

Gary loved and enjoyed his family and was an amazing friend, husband, father, uncle, and grandpa. He loved teaching his grandchildren to drive his Dodge truck. He is survived by his wife, Nancy; son Monty (Camilla), their children (Lars and Linnea); Mindy (Alec), their son (Bailey); his sisters, Carla Boettcher and Sharon Goldman and their families; numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.

A private family graveside service was held at Grandview Cemetery in Wray, Colo. Memorial contributions may be given to The Hospice of the Plains in Gary’s honor at P.O. Box 365, Wray, CO 80758.

Schmidt-Jones Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.