Gary Elgaaen

Class of 1992

Gary began his life-long association with the confectionery business at the age of ten when he began working part-time at his father’s distributing company in Marysville, CA.

After his 1958 graduation from the University of California, Berkeley, he worked for the Wm. Wrigley Co. until 1961 when he rejoined his father, who had become a partner in the Elgaaen-Booth Co. Gary was named president of the company in 1975; a position he held at the time of his induction.

Gary was also president of the Golden West Candy Club in 1964 and president of the California Brokers Association in 1978. In 1975, he was honored by the National Candy Wholesalers Association as a Candy Ambassador and was further honored by the CBA with the Lou Specter Award in 1978 and the Al Fowler Award in 1982.

He and his wife Pam raised five children.

Gary passed away on May 23, 2023.