Gary Allen Carver

March 23, 1942-2025

Gary Allen Carver was born March 23, 1942, in Reedley, Calif., to Elmer Maurice Carver and Alice Caroline Sorensen Carver. His father was a musician and his mother a registered nurse. At the time of his birth they lived on the Sorensen Ranch in Orosi, Calif. Shortly after he was born his family moved to Reno, Nev., where his father built a hotel south of Reno, raised tropical fish, and built and sold aquariums. Gary attended elementary school in a one-room schoolhouse. Later, his family moved to Tahoe, Calif., where he attended high school. Aside from a worldclass Nordic cross country ski team it had a well-rounded faculty that included a chemistry teacher who sparked Gary’s life-long interest in science.

As a teen he hiked, fished and skied the Sierras, ranging as far south as Mammoth. The only parental constraint was a demand that he put a pin in a map showing that day’s destination. He became an expert cross country and downhill skier who worked ski patrol in his early 20s at Sierra Ski Ranch south of Tahoe. This obsession proved to be troublesome when he entered college at University of Nevada Reno. He flunked out twice, each time neglecting to drop his courses. His parents, ever ambitious for their wayward son, appealed for his readmission to the board of regents each time. He struggled as an uninspired civil engineering major but his enthusiasm for higher education was assured when he took a geology course. He would go on to earn a BS and MS in geology at UNR and a PhD in geology at University of Washington, Seattle, in 1972. During his time at UW he was one of the central leaders in the anti-Vietnam War movement, organizing protests that shut down I-5 and motivated the student body to fight back against the horrific war where several of his friends had lost their lives. His activism never stopped and he wore “RESIST” buttons on his hat and red bandanas around his neck (used at protests to launch back tear gas) for the rest of his life.

After completing a post-doc at SUNY Binghamton, NY, in 1973 he worked with a team of geologists studying earthquake hazards on the Trans Alaska Pipeline. During that field season the Denali Fault was located and the pipeline engineered to withstand an earthquake the team predicted on the fault. In 2002 an earthquake on the Denali caused the pipeline to adjust on engineered supports assuring the survival of the pipeline. He was astounded that in his lifetime he witnessed a successful result of that study’s effort. It was also during that 1973 field season he learned his application to join the geology faculty at Humboldt State University was accepted.

Humboldt County always held a place in the hearts of the Carver family as he and his family fly-fished the Klamath River most summers of his childhood. A Humboldt job, let alone a professorship, was a dream come true for him and for 25 years he excelled as a teacher, researcher, and was proud to become Humboldt Scholar of the Year in 1996.

Gary and Deborah Hesch married in 1979 and they built the off-the-grid hippy house of his dreams on their property at the top of Fox Farm Road overlooking a vast seascape from Trinidad Head south to Cape Mendocino. It was there they brought home their two children, Terra in 1983 and Molly in 1986. Each newborn was given an extensive tour of the tiny house in his arms. He discussed how to take care of the dogs, books, plants and all the birds they could one day see and which window had the best view.

Out of Trinidad every summer he fished for salmon and rockfish with dear friends Terry Roloef and Dick Kielselhorst on a small skiff they bought together. A favorite place was the shaky dock where he took his kids to check on the Mosquito Fleet’s catch and to the Seascape Restaurant where they would enjoy a smoky salmon sandwich.

Those years teaching and living in Humboldt were golden. He was an enthusiastic professor, mentor and friend to his students and adventurous grad students.

After retiring from Humboldt in 1998 the family moved to Alaska and Gary started Carver Geologic Inc., a one-man consulting firm on Kodiak Island. The Carver home became a summer landing spot for students, scientists and fisherman looking for a home-cooked meal and a stay in the banya. Gary was full of stories about the wilds of Kodiak Island and always entertained visitors with a short course on local geology. Never to pass up an adventure, he spent most of those 27 years exploring the far reaches of Alaska, the Yukon, Russia and Papua New Guinea with some of the world’s most talented and untamed scientists. In his off time, which curiously happened to coincide with silver season, he could be found, depending on the tides, at the mouth of the Pasagshak River or at the Old’s River. Pulling on silvers with his neon-pink flies and snacking on a can of sardines and crackers brought him an insurmountable amount of joy. He had a boundless affection toward Kodiak and its residents and every day commented at least once how lucky he was to live on Kodiak Island.

He leaves his wife Deborah; daughters Molly and Terra; son-in-law and fishing partner Eli Samson; 3-year-old granddaughter, Juniper; and many treasured friends. He is sorely missed and wildly remembered. But most of all, he leaves his deep love of Humboldt to his daughter Terra, his love of Alaska to his daughter Molly and story-telling talent to granddaughter Juniper. She, like her grandfather, enjoys telling stories that are ongoing and elaborate.

There will be a celebration of life BBQ Alaska salmon potluck at the Bayside Grange for friends and family October 17, 5-8:30 p.m. Please RSVP at: https://www.eventcreate.com/e/drcarver

If you would like to honor his memory please consider donating to Alzheimer’s research and if you know of someone so afficted, offer to sit with them occasionally and let them know how much joy they bring to the world.