Gary Goby was named as the Honored Member for 2009. We give grateful thanks to Gary who has served this congregation faithfully for so many years. Gary has served as a deacon, elder, choir member, Sunday school teacher, worship leader and assisted with building maintenance and improvements.

As a member of our church, Gary has served in hands-on, and often behind-the-scenes roles, whether from a ladder on the roof or as chair and vice chair of the congreation. As vice chair, Gary took the lead in the administration during the remodel of the sanctuary and was instrumental in creating and installing the stained glass at the front of the sanctuary. Serving as chair when Dick Busic left, Gary pulled together the search committee that called Cynthia Lindner to ministry in Albany.

Gary was born and raised in Illinois where he met his wife Jan on a school bus in a small Illinois farming town. He attended Blackburn College and  then St. Louis University School of Medicine. He completed residencies in Missouri and California and trained as a medical officer of the U.S. Air Force in Idaho before settling in Albany  in 1973 working in family medicine. He and Jan raised two sons and a daughter here in Albany.

Gary still works three days a week at the Geary St. Clinic and has served at the InReach Clinic providing free medical care to those in need. He worked as the chief of staff at Albany General Hospital and is currently Linn County medical examiner.

He also started a business selling Oregon black walnut, an enterprise which provided employment for generations of young people. His dedication to excellence was passed on to young people who learned to take pride in a job well done. Jan says that Gary's greatest assets are creativity and curiousity coupled with a dedication to excellence in every project he takes on.

Gary is a devoted grandparent and last year spent a weekend with a grandson building a playhouse complete with a cupola and shutters.