John Gary, Former Anne Arundel County Executive, Dead At 81

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY, MD — John Gary, who served as executive of Anne Arundel County from 1994 to 1998, died on July 12, according to officials and a report. He was 81.

In a statement shared on Facebook, current County Executive Steuart Pittman confirmed Gary's death. The cause is unknown.

"I was sad to learn of the recent passing of former Anne Arundel County Executive John Gary," Pittman said. "I am grateful for his leadership and his dedication to our county, and I am holding his loved ones in the light as they grieve his loss."

Born in Baltimore in 1943, Gary moved to Anne Arundel when he was a child, the Baltimore Sun reported. He graduated from Glen Burnie High School and later attended Anne Arundel Community College and the University of Maryland.

Gary, a Republican, entered public service in the 1970s and served the county in various roles. Before becoming county executive, he was a member of the Maryland House of Delegates from 1983 to 1994.

“He was an extremely loyal person,” Gary’s daughter, Donna Gary-Vereb, told the Baltimore Sun. “When you were his friend, you were his friend for life. He appreciated people and was very charismatic and outgoing. You know politicians, he’d talk to anybody.”

The Washington Post wrote in 1998 that Gary, a former drapery business owner, governed Anne Arundel County "as if he owned the place."

"Bluntness is his credo. Orders are his favored means of execution. It is a style befitting a big-city mayor," the Post wrote.

Gary also established a “Wheels for Work” program that made old county cars available to welfare recipients, the Sun reported. He also helped acquire the property now known as the Frederick Douglass Museum and Cultural Center in Highland Beach.

Gary lost his re-election bid in 1998 to Democrat Janet Owens, the first woman to be elected Anne Arundel County executive.

Gary was preceded in death by his wife, Ruthanne Neighoff Gary. He is survived by his three children, Donna, Cynthia and Gregory, and four grandchildren.

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