Gerald L Thorpe

Gerald (Gary) L. Thorpe completed his life journey on 24 January 2026 at Heron’s Glen Golf and Country Club in North Fort Myers, Florida. He was born in Pontiac, Michigan on March 1, 1938, to Lyle J. Thorpe and Ruth Cook Eisel, their only child. He was raised from infancy by his father’s oldest brother, Earl W. Thorpe, and his wife, Mildred Edwards Thorpe. He is predeceased by his wife of 70 years, Connie M. Ferguson Thorpe, his three children, Kenneth Earl Thorpe, Jeffry Alan Thorpe, Susan Valerie Thorpe Wright, eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

He was an excellent high school athlete, serving as captain of both the football and baseball teams at Avondale High School in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Gary was also a lifelong learner, earning a B.A degree in Economics and Political Science at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan, an M.A at The Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a Ph.D. in Educational Research at Wayne State. He also completed over 30 credit hours in the M.P.A program at the University of Oklahoma.

Gary worked a variety of jobs over his lifetime, including as a high school teacher in Newton Massachusetts and Grosse Pointe, Michigan, an Assistant Professor at Wayne State University, a Full tenured Professor at Indiana University of Pennsylvania (IUP), and a Full Adjunct Professor in the MBA program at the University of Maryland, University College.

In addition to his years of teaching, Gary was employed as a Senior Operations Research Analyst in the Office of Program Analysis and Evaluation, Office of the Secretary of Defense, and as the Assistant Director of the Governor’s Office of Program Evaluation and Analysis during Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh’s administration. He moved to Maryland in 1986 to accept the position of Director of the Maryland State Community Assistance Administration. Gary held several other positions in Maryland before retiring, including appointment as the Energy Czar of Maryland, Executive Assistant to the Governor of Maryland William Donald Schaefer, A gubernatorially appointed and State Senate confirmed Maryland Public Utilities Commissioner, and the Assistant Comptroller of the Maryland State Office of the Comptroller of the Treasury.

Throughout his life, Gary received several honors, including election to the National Honor Society Phi Beta Kappa and recipient of the Pennsylvania State University and Colleges Distinguished Service Award. For 1976. He was also elected Township Supervisor of White Township in Western Pennsylvania and served as the President of the National Association of Regulatory Utilities Commissioners.

Gary was an avid genealogist and gardener. He pursued those hobbies during his long (22-year) retirement, along with his fruitless pursuit of respectable golf. He never quite got the hang of it but note this – on September 9th, 2009, he recorded a hole in one on his home course, Heron’s Glen in North Fort Myers, Florida. He counted that as his most significant achievement.

At his request no funeral services will be held. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Hope Hospice, 2430 Diplomat Pkwy E, Cape Coral, FL 33909