Gary W Thorpe

On Friday, March 13, 2026, Gary William Thorpe went home to Heaven. Born to Ervin Thomas Thorpe and Ruth Geraldine (Hubler) Thorpe on November 29, 1942, in Carroll, Iowa. Gary had an older sister, Sheila. The family moved to San Diego, California and lived there through the war before moving back to Des Moines, Iowa. Gary graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High School and went on to get two years of college before starting his career in construction.

Gary started his career at Kaiser Construction. From there he went to work with his parents at Des Moines Asphalt. He worked from the bottom up to Vice president before leaving. He was the general superintendent at Commercial Asphalt until they closed. In the late 1980’s Gary went to work for an earthwork company. He worked there, owning half of the company, until he retired in 2000.

Gary was married to Jolene (May) Bryan from 1963 to 1980. They had two sons, Chad and Joel. In May 1986 Gary married Barbara (Clark) Thorpe, adding her three children, Joshua, Jessica and Rachael to his family. That’s where the fun in life began.

Retiring in 2000, Gary enjoyed designing and building their next few houses. Including two in Arizona, one in Missouri and one in Granger, Iowa. Horse riding and caring for his horses, golfing with friends, pickleball, tennis and Nascar are some of the things he enjoyed.

Gary was preceded in death by his parents, sister and love of his life, Barb.

Surviving are his children: Chad (Kim) Thorpe, Joel (Deanne) Thorpe, Rachael (Brian) Swanson, Joshua Thorpe and Jessica Clark; grandchildren: Zach, Derrian, Deven (Arron), Tanner, Livvy, Rosie, Poppy, Levi and Grace; and great-grandchildren: Beckham, Cannon and Crosby.

Services will be held at 11:00 Am, Monday, April 6, 2026, with visitation one hour prior at 10AM at New Hope Assembly of God (4425 70th St Urbandale, IA 50322).