Gary S. Tavan., passed away peacefully on May 15, 2011. He was 72 years old. He is survived by his wife of 44 years, Jeannette; his daughter, Michele; 2 grandchildren, Ella (9) and Joe (7); his sister, Gail Ehmann, '64; and niece, Kerry and nephew, Tod. He was a devoted husband and a loving father and grandfather.

He was born in Ventura, CA and spent his entire life in Southern California. He graduated from Fullerton High School in 1957 and then went on to Fullerton Jr. College and Cal Poly Pomona. He was a star football player at all 3 schools. 

After college, he went into the Army Reserves and then owned a commercial landscape company for 30 years. He loved football and was a devoted fan to UCLA and Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. His other loves included rugby, hunting, skiing, going to the gym, and taking long walks with his wife and friends at the beach. His joyful sense of humor and fun-loving spirit brought many smiles to a lot of faces, especially those of his daughter and grandchildren. He will be dearly missed.

Orange County Register, June 2, 2011