Funeral homes often submit obituaries as a service to the families they are assisting. However, we will be happy to accept obituaries from family members pending proper verification of the death.
Gary Ronald VanOrman was born at The Dalles Hospital on March 12, 1939, to Ronald Vandelier VanOrman and Verla Rose (Kortge) VanOrman. He attended Joseph G. Wilson Elementary School until the sixth grade when his family moved to Klamath Falls, Oregon, where they owned and operated a shoe store.
Gary graduated from Klamath Union High School (Go Pelicans!) and went on to major in Liberal Arts at the University of Oregon (Go Ducks!). After college, Gary left for the bright lights of Hollywood to become an actor. He landed several roles in TV shows, including Hill Street Blues, M.A.S.H., Alias Smith and Jones, Adam-12, and It Takes a Thief. He also appeared in the movie Rattlers.
As a child, some of Gary’s fondest memories were of visiting the family ranch with his cousins. No matter where he roamed, he always considered it home. He would often tell the story of how, after purchasing his mother’s piece of the land, he walked back into the property before the road was cut to find the house site, and simply said, “This is it.”
While living in California, on one of his trips home, Gary was set up on a blind date by his cousin’s wife with a beautiful woman named Deborah Jean Kyle. They were married on May 4, 1980, and would spend the next 46 years together building a house and a life on the ranch. They welcomed a daughter, Kylee Verla VanOrman, on Jan. 29, 1986.
Gary brought his love of acting and unique flair home with him from Hollywood. Besides being a general handyman, he worked at Crates Point before it became the Discovery Center, performing “living history” as Garrett R. Branch. He also performed regularly in Wild West gun fight reenactments with the slightly different persona of Sheriff Gardner Branch. He never broke character while on the clock.
Gary enjoyed telling stories of his life; watching football and NASCAR; horseback riding; reloading and shooting; and having a few beers. He loved his family no matter if you were his brother or his fourth cousin - you were family.
Harvest time was always special to Gary. He loved watching and taking pictures of the combines and harvest crews. He was always very proud of how hard his family worked and how they cared for the land.
Gary passed peacefully at home with a view of Mount Hood on March 26, 2026. He was preceded in death by his parents, Ron and Verla. He leaves behind his loving wife, Debbie; their daughter, Kylee; brother Jack (Marcia) VanOrman; and numerous cousins, nieces and nephews.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to the Red Cross, Mercy Chefs, or Tunnels to Towers.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.
(0) entries
Sign the guestbook.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.