Ira "Gary" Malcolm Gourley

“Together Again” Heaven goes by favour. If it went by merit, you would stay out and your dog would go in. - Mark Twain Ira Malcolm “Gary” Gourley of Ogden, passed away on August 18, 2013 at the age of 84. He was born in the Dee Hospital on October 26, 1928 to Naomi Bernice Bush Gourley and to Ira Joseph Gourley. Gary spent his childhood in Ogden, and not only played football for Ogden High School, but also for Weber College, and then, for Utah State. After graduating from Utah State, he attended Washington State University in Pullman, where he earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine, completing an internship at the Angell Memorial Animal Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. Following his internship, he worked at the University of Minnesota, where he taught veterinary surgery and earned his Ph.D. in Veterinary Medicine. While there, he and his wife, Iris Joan (Strandberg) Gourley began their family and planned to continue their lives together in California, where he had obtained a tenure track position at the University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Regrettably, Iris passed away in 1968. In 1970, Gary married Judith Ann (Livermore) Gourley, and they remained in Davis, California for almost 25years, where he was considered one of the “most influential educators” at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. An early diplomate of the American College of Veterinary Surgeons, he was, at one time, only one of two microsurgeons in the state of California. Thus, he became responsible for microsurgical training at both the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine and the UC Davis School of Medicine, where he also held an academic appointment. In 1987, Gary performed the first successful feline kidney transplant in the world. During the 1980s, Gary was described by UC Davis as being “instrumental” in creating a new curriculum at the Veterinary School, “that is now the model for other veterinary schools…[and] provides students with a core foundation in comparative veterinary medicine and a flexible elective component for exploration of species-specific interests or non-traditional areas of veterinary science.” In February 2007, in honor of his contributions, the University of California at Davis renamed its veterinary medicine laboratory facility the “I.M. Gary Gourley Clinical Teaching Center.” Gary is preceded in death by Judy, his beloved wife of 41 years, as well as his sister, Patricia Gourley. He is survived by three children: Stephanie Ann, Candice Lee and Gary Michael, as well as nine grandchildren and also his sweet golden retriever, Dancer. The family would particularly like to thank Julie and Kathy at Intermountain Healthcare Hospice, as well as the staff at Wasatch Pharmacy for their responsiveness, care and compassion during Gary’s unexpected illness and passing. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to either the Best Friends Animal Society in Kanab, Utah or to the Judith A. and I.M. Gary Gourley Scholarship through the UC Davis Foundation, please make checks payable to the UC Davis Foundation with Dr. Gourley in the memo line and mail to UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, PO Box 1167, Davis, CA 95617. The gifts will be directed to the Judith A. and I.M. Gary Gourley Endowed Scholarship. Daddy, as Victor Hugo wrote, “Have courage for the great sorrows of life and patience for the small ones; and when you have laboriously accomplished your daily task, go to sleep in peace. God is awake.” Services entrusted to Lindquist’s Ogden Mortuary.