Gary Yoder

Gary Yoder, like his older brother Olin, was born into a family with talent. His father, Claude, was honored by the Smithsonian Institution for his wood carving ability; Gary was a five-time world champion: four times in the "miniature" category and once for a life-sized carving.
His contributions to Western Maryland were many. He was a decades-long employee of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, served as the first manager of Deep Creek Lake Stae Park and relocated to Annapolis where he was instrumental in the long effort to build the Rocky Gap Lodge and Golf Resort.
He enjoyed hunting and fishing; one of his important accomplishments was acquiring public fishing access to the North Branch of the Potomac River. Many of those fishermen are ferried by professional guides. That project mirrored his program to lure large groups to Garrett County where they would fish the Savage, Potomac and Youghiogheny rivers - in the meantime being able to consider Garrett County for future investment opportunities. That Youghiogheny River was, we're told, his favorite stream; he was a member of the Youghiogheny Chapter of Trout Unlimited.
Like Olin, Gary was a gifted story teller, and that ability - and his sense of humor - endeared him to those who met him; he had friends throughout the state, and that was important as he worked to protect and share the natural environs of Western Maryland.
He received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from West Virginia University, and his Master of Arts degree in counseling from the same institution. He was a member of the Garrett County Development Corporation, Board of ASCI and Board of Susquehanna Bank. Gary passed away while at a deer hunting camp on November 29, 2009.

Eddie Deezen

Allegany High School student Eddie Dezen knew what his future was, and he lost no time in pursuing an acting career in Hollywood. Born on March 6, 1958, (Some biographies list his birth as occurring in 1957) he hit the road after graduation, landing in the Golden State, adding another "E" to his last name for emphasis, and embarking on his chosen path. For Eddie Deezen, work has been steady for the Cumberland native; he's appeared in numerous movies and found a true home in the voice-over business, lending his nasally inflections to several cartoon features, including a present job as Mandark on the popular Children's Cartoon Network's "Dexter's Laboratory."
As a 20 year-old, he was a Beatles fan in "I Wanna Hold Your Hand," released in 1978. It was an easy role; he truly is captivated by the Fab Four and their successes. He played the ultimate techno-geek in "War Games" in 1980, and has appeared in dozens of films since: Polar Express, Spy Hard, 1941, Desperate Moves, Million Dollar Mystery, Silence of the Hams, Scooby-Doo in Arabian Nights, Teenage Exorcist, The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes, and both "Grease" movies, to name just a few.
He earned more popularity on television, playing, again, nerdy, geeky roles, one of which was the portrayal of zany maintenance man Eddie Malven on the "Punky Brewster" series in the mid-80s. He even served as guest host on a Saturday Night Live segment. Deezen is another area native who's scored big in Hollywood; his web site is a popular location, featuring trivia of all kinds.

David Grimes

David Grimes passed away in 2005, but he left behind a legacy any of us would be proud to call our own. He was a graduate of Allegany High School with the class of 1955 and embarked on a career that would see him, by 1980, Project Manager for Delta Launch Vehicle NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center. By that time he had worked at Goddard for 17 years, and had accepted responsibility for launching most of the free world communications and meteorological satellites. He was a charter member of the Senior Executive Service for the Federal Government. He had received the NASA Exceptional Service Medal in 1974 for managing the Atmosphere Explorer series of spacecraft. Travel to the far east was on his agenda in the fall of 1980; India, Indonesia and Australia were all flying Delta missions into the mid-80s - as far as his information was projected at that time. He was, as you can see, a true rocket scientist.
A few years later - in 1997 - David co-founded Telfonet Communications. The company is listed on the American Stock Exchange. The business distributes high-speed internet service over 60 cycle power lines in homes and commercial buildings. At this writing the company was about to get certified for government and miltary work, especially the Navy/Marine internet. David received the patent as the system's inventor.
As an aside, David and his wife, Susan, were the parents of two sets of twins, who are in their mid to late 40s today.