Gary Ward Schmidt

Gary "Grampy" Schmidt, 77, passed away on July 21, 2024, in Gardnerville, NV with his wife and children by his side. Born on August 7, 1946, in Sacramento, CA, Gary was a proud alumnus of Sacramento High School (Class of 1964) Sacramento State (Bachelors in Criminal Justice ) and Chapman college (Masters in Social Work), which laid the foundation for his career at the Sacramento Children's Home and later with the Sacramento County Probation Department.

Throughout his life, Gary was known for his love of adventure and exploration, living in California, Mexico and Nevada, and traveling across the country and around the world. He had a strong passion for exploring the Nevada desert with George Park and Craig Nickens, in search of ghost towns, arrowheads and metal detecting for old coins, a hobby that brought him great joy!

One of his best friends, RD, was also frequently by his side on many of his adventures! Both were founding members of the original “father kid” camping trip to little grass valley reservoir. This trip started as a group of Probation Officer dads and their kids but later expanded to friends and family and was so big, they had to reserve an entire campground! It was a crazy and fun trip with middle of the night Snipe hunts, scarry movies and long days on the water swimming and fishing as the norm.

Gary was a passionate outdoorsman who loved to camp, hunt, and fish. He would spend his summers camping with friends & family while fishing for trout and bass in the Sierra lakes. Fall and winters were spent hunting ducks and pheasants in nearby farm fields and his duck club up by Marysville. Spring was a particularly exciting time as it was his favorite trip of the year, opening day of trout fishing. His original fishing partners in crime were Burt Brown and Leroy Merlo and they prowled the small streams above Frenchman’s lake in search of Rainbow and Brown trout. The trip was later expanded to include his brother, son and grandsons. These fishing trips were loaded with crazy happenings and stories and will live on in infamy as some of the highlights of his life!

Gary was passionate about sports, particularly baseball and played little league and Babe Ruth as a youth, making multiple Allstar teams. He continued with Baseball through his varsity year of high school and into American Legion. As an adult, he transitioned to Slow pitch softball and toured the west coast playing tournaments with the Sac Probation competitive team. He played a wicked 3rd base with soft hands and a strong arm! He was particularly proud that his grandson AJ played baseball through college. Gary would often sit by the computer so he could live stream his games and tally his stats!

Gary cherished the moments he spent with his friends, family, and especially his grandchildren (Tayler, AJ, Cameron, and Carson) and great grandchildren (Braylen, Cruz, and Santino).

Gary is survived by his wife, Patricia Bailey; Children, Kevin Schmidt (Cayitana) and Mikell Gonzales (John); Step-Kids Brad Bailey (Sommer) and Ben Bailey (Morgan); Sisters, Carol Otto and Joann Brian (Bob), and his brother, David Schmidt (Veronica). He was preceded in death by his parents, Walt, and Marjorie Schmidt.

Gary's will be remembered as a fun individual who was often the life of the party! From Hawaii to the Florida Keys, from Mexico to Europe, he’d share a cold beer with friends and strangers alike! One of his favorite sayings was: “It’s 5 o’clock somewhere”.