Gary Laatsch died suddenly at age 31 in the middle of a promising art career. He was coming of age as an artist and sculptor, establishing his own unique vision, his sense of self, when a brief illness took his life. He graduated from Delta College in 1974 and went on to earn a bachelor of fine arts degree from the prestigious Cranbrook Academy of Art. By 1981, he had completed a master degree in fine arts sculpture from the Art Institute of Chicago. He is best remembered as a gentle and talented young man whose legacy was an ambition to inspire
