Gary Donald Hampe

Gary Donald Hampe, 82, passed away from pancreatic cancer in the early morning hours of October 12, 2022.  Gary was born April 3, 1940, in Britt, Iowa, in the home of his parents, Donald and Enid Joyce (Anderson) Hampe.  He graduated from High School in Corwith, IA and earned his bachelor’s degree in English at St. Olaf College in 1962.  After that, he studied for two quarters at Wartburg Theological Seminary, then realized the Lutheran ministry was not a good fit.  He transferred to the University of Iowa and received the M.A. (1967) and PhD (1970) in Sociology.  In 1994, Gary earned his last degree, a B.S. in Statistics from the University of Wyoming.  Dr. Hampe held a position at the University of Wyoming since Fall of 1969, except for three years at Mississippi State (1974-77).  He enjoyed meeting the many students, faculty, and staff during his career in Wyoming. He taught 11,000 students at all academic levels and did research (18 articles, 15 research projects and reports, 50 professional papers). He held memberships in numerous University and College committees, was the Faculty Senate Chair, and participated in academic-focused and sociological committees at the regional and national level.  He supervised and participated in at least 100 master theses and PhD dissertations.

Gary retired in December 2010. His community service involved a number of organizational boards: Albany Seniors; The Safe Board of Directors; and Volunteers of America, formally Southeast Mental Health, then Peak Wellness.

He married Catherine Gugler in 1962, a year after meeting her during the summer of 1961 in a YMCA camp on the Des Moines River in Iowa, where Gary was a counselor and Catherine was the camp nurse.  He leaves behind:  His wife, Catherine; Two daughters, Karla Wehner (Elko, NV) and Anita (Randy) Artz (Battle Mountain, NV); His grandchildren, Garrett (Emily) Wehner (Adams, MN); Keetna Smith (Reno, NV); Kira Smith (U.S. Air Force, Ramstein, Germany); Reese Artz (Dillon, MT); and Jayda (Jeremy) Baysinger (Battle Mountain, NV); His great grandchild, Atreus Wehner; Brothers and sisters-in law Walter (Catherine) Gugler (Stanwood, IA); Donald (Carol) Gugler (Ely, IA); Allen Wayne (Shirley) Gugler (Mount Vernon, IA); Patricia Hampe (Tyler, TX); James Bull (Hackensack, MN); and numerous cousins, nieces, and nephews.  He also leaves behind many friends with whom he visited and interacted in Laramie.  If it is possible to miss them after death, he will.

Gary was preceded in death by his parents Donald and Enid Joyce Hampe (Corwith, IA), younger brother Clark (Patricia) Hampe (Tyler, TX), and younger sister Julie (James) Bull (Hackensack, MN); His in-laws Lester and Glenva Gugler (Mt. Vernon, IA); and numerous uncles, aunts and a nephew and niece.

Gary placed his family first, as seen in his activities in helping to “fix” up any apartment or house into which they moved or in helping them move across the country.  At times it seemed that U-Haul was on speed-dial during a number of periods of his life. When he wasn’t moving someone or fixing things, he enjoyed reading, especially mystery novels.

As per request, Gary was cremated and laid to rest in Green Hill Cemetery. Private family services will be held.  If you feel so moved, memorial gifts may be made to Laramie Hospice, Downtown Clinic, Safe, or Interfaith Good Samaritan.

Print This Obituary Print This Obituary

Condolences (10)

  • Sara Roskvist

    I’m so sorry for your loss, Catherine ❤️

  • Kay Soderberg

    I am so sorry to hear this, Catherine. My condolences to you and your family.

  • David A Walker

    Catherine, I am so sorry for your loss. Prayers for you and your family. David Walker

  • Mary Elizabeth Galvan

    My sincere sympathies to you and your family. I enjoyed knowing Gary very much.

  • Greg & Di Ann (Hampe) Reindl

    Condolences to Catherine and family.

  • Jeanette

    My heart aches for all you. I am so deeply sorry for your loss.

  • Anonymous

    Gary had become my very best friend. Making his acquaintance and swapping "war stories" with Gary and George Gill at Jeffrey's enriched my retirement with mirth and good cheer. I appreciate so very much Catherine and the Hampe family sharing a bit of this good and decent man with me and the rest of the world. William (Bud) Moore

  • Kay Kohler

    Oh, Catherine, my heart breaks for you in the loss of this critical part of your life. I feel sure that your nursing background was instrumental in helping him navigate pancreatic cancer. May joyous memories displace the difficult ones of the last year, and may you find peace. Hugs to you and the girls!

  • Eric Kohler

    Our most sincere sympathies on your loss. Kay and Eric Kohler

  • Gwen Johnson

    His was a life well-lived. I always enjoyed being around him. Condolences to Catherine, Karla, Anita and children.

LEAVE YOUR CONDOLENCES

All condolences submitted to this online guest book will be made public for all friends and family to view. Your email address will not be published.

You may use these HTML tags and attributes:


<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>