Gary K. Hart, former educator and legislator, passed away on January 27, 2022, at age 78 after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer. Hart was born in the middle of World War II and was raised by his mother in San Diego until his father returned from the South Pacific theater when Gary was three years old. An only child, his two childhood passions were following the national news and playing competitive sports.
He was student body president of his junior high school in Santa Monica and his high school in Santa Barbara, and he was inspired by John F. Kennedy’s book Profiles in Courage and JFK’s successful presidential campaign in 1960. Hart viewed politics and public service as noble endeavors and was intrigued at an early age by the possibility of some day running for office.
His youth sports activities culminated in his senior year at Santa Barbara High School where he was an All-CIF end (which led to a Stanford football scholarship), an all-league baseball player, co-captain of the varsity basketball team and a top-ranked player on the all-league Santa Barbara High School tennis team.
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