Gary Vernon Lauridsen was born June 30, 1958 in Greeley, Colorado to Dewayne and Geraldine Lauridsen. Gary was born the middle child of five children, Rick, Terrie, Steve, and Jody. Gary grew up in his family home just outside Laporte, Co. Born into a family with deep rooted western heritage, took no time at all before Gary was riding horses, working cattle, and swinging his rope.

At age 7, Gary was injured that ultimately lead to the development of severe Rheumatoid Arthritis. Although painful, he never let his R.A slow him down or stop him from living his life to the fullest.

Growing up, Gary and his siblings spent their time after school doing their chores, finding themselves horse back in their roping arena, and spending summers working on ranches with their father. These experiences strengthened their family bond and developed Gary’s passion for the cowboy lifestyle. In 1976, Gary graduated from Poudre High School in Fort Collins, Co. After graduation, he moved to Wyoming where he spent 3 years ranching, riding, and living the cowboy way.

In the early 80’s, Gary returned home to Fort Collins where he met and married his first wife Pat. Together in 1987, they had Gary’s only daughter Ashlee. Gary worked on a feedlot, as a jack of all trades and eventually as an electrician to support his wife and daughter, while still finding time to rope, ride, and enjoy family. In 1989 he, his wife, and daughter moved to Centreville, Virginia for an employment opportunity, along with his best friend Jeff. Within 2 years he knew he wanted to return to his roots in Colorado. Gary spent the next 16 years in Fort Collins, CO competing at most of the local team ropings, as well as supporting Ashlee through soccer.

In 2007, Gary met his second wife Julie. Together they moved to their property in Kersey, CO. Gary and Julie shared a love forteam roping and helping on various cattle ranches. Over a span of 50 years Gary spent a lot of his time with the roping community in Colorado, where he created and built many long-lasting friendships. He was always willing to mentor anyone that shared his passion for roping.  Today, at any roping arena in northern Colorado, the very mention of his name is likely to stir up a story, or an old friend.

In 2017, Gary and his nephew, Dustin Bowling, earned a spot to compete at the World Series of Team Roping Finals in Las Vegas, Nevada. For Gary this was a huge achievement, an opportunity to rope on a big stage. Gary and Dustin placed 15thout of over 300 teams and earned the largest single payout of his lifetime.

On November 6th, 2019, after a year and a half of battling health issues, Gary passed away peacefully at home with his wife Julie by his side. Gary leaves behind a legacy of hard work, kindness,friendship, perseverance and a passion for the cowboy way of life. He is survived by his wife Julie, daughter Ashlee and Ryan Spencer, stepson Cody Szallar and stepdaughter Jamie and Chris Sykes. Grandchildren: Weston and Bryson Spencer, Blake and Conner Sykes. His Father DeWayne Lauridsen, siblings: Rick and Tammi Lauridsen, Steve and Polly Lauridsen, Terrie and Dennis Guenther, and Jody and Vergil Wooldridge. Nieces and Nephews: Dustin and Carly Bowling, Jessica Guenther, Tyler and Becky Lauridsen, Danielle Lauridsen, Korie Kirchenschlager, and Dakota Kirchenschlager.