Like most of you, I was shocked to hear of the passing of Gary Shore.
You just don't expect that of someone so young (he was 55) and full of
energy. Gary was the Chief Meteorologist here at KJRH, then KTEW,
in the late 70s through the mid 90s but he was more than just the Chief.
He was an innovator and very passonate guy.
While I never worked with Gary, our paths had crossed a few
times. As weatherman in Lawton, I would visit my family in Weleetka
and watch the Tulsa stations. If I was off on a weekday, I would
catch Gary on 2 and Don Woods on 8. If it was severe weather
you watched Gary Shore. Period. I liked his style, a good communicator
and he knew his stuff. Without question, he was an excellent
meteorologist. He had his masters degree in meteorology from
Penn State and I read where he started keeping weather records
at the age of 12.
When I became Chief here, I heard from Gary.
We chatted a bit on Oklahoma weather and he wished me well. Later,
after our station installed our new radar in Coweta, I heard from Gary.
He wanted to know what we had planned to do with our exixting radar
that towers over the building here on Brookside. Gary wanted
to know if we had planned to sell it, and if so that he would like
to have his station in Souix City, Iowa purchase it. I told him
we had planned to keep it spinning and run both radars and he
sounded a bit disappointed. He asked me about staff members
who were still with the station and I told him he was still loved
in this market and how often folks asked me about him.
News folks asked me if we had any video of Gary and I went
through our weather archives and found some airchecks and one of
Gary doing a "stand up" (that is a t.v. term when someone stands
and talks in front of something) in front of a tornado. You could
tell in his eyes he was loving every minute of it.
I heard stories of how he loved to go out on a limb in
forecast, especially snow, when others in town would say
2" or 3" Gary would, on occassion, say 8" or 9" of snow.
Many remember this because most of the time he was
right. Gary loved a tough and challenging forecast.
I so admire those early day pioneers. They were innovative,
bold, and took chances. They didn't have near the tools we have
today, but did a remarkable job keeping the public informed
and safe during severe weather.
Gary Shore was one of a kind. Viewers in this market, as well
as Huntsville, AL and Sioux City, IA where he worked has left
a legacy. Like Jim Giles, he was a class act. They both raised
the bar high, the rest of us are just shadows of these two giants.
Good bye Gary.
They will never be another one like you.