William Gary Isom - Obituary

illiam Gary Isom 59, entered eternal rest on October 20th, 2022 at the Woodland Hills Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. He bravely and valiantly battled cancer which he was diagnosed with in 2021. William Gary was born April 16th 1963 in Fort Dix, New Jersey to William Gene and Virginia (Veazey) Isom as the oldest of three children. Sharing the first name with his father, family and friends fondly called him by his middle name Gary. Born into a military family Gary lived in many places growing up. He lived at Fort Dix, New Jersey until the age of two, then Columbus GA, Panama, Fort Devons MA, Fort Leavenworth KS, Fort Ord CA, Kinshasa Zaire, Syracuse, NY and in 1974 the family moved to Oxon Hill, Maryland where Gary finished the 6th grade at Valley View Elementary school. He then went on to Oxon Hill Junior High School and Oxon Hill High School where he graduated in 1981 as Valedictorian and Vice President of his senior class, and was on the varsity soccer, wrestling, and track teams. Growing up Gary also enjoyed playing soccer and baseball, running track, wrestling, reading books, listening to all kinds of music from classic rock, Jimmy Hendrix, Parliament, Earth Wind & Fire, and fishing for largemouth and striped bass. As an adult, his love for literature and writing brought him frequently to libraries and bookstores near and far which was one of his favorite places to be. Gary briefly considered attending the Naval Academy and attended the Summer Seminar there during the summer of his junior year of high school. He ultimately decided to attend Cornell University on an Air Force ROTC scholarship where he aspired to become an electrical engineer. Finding his ultimate passion was for writing and literature he left Cornell and moved to Madison Wisconsin to study comparative literature at the University of Wisconsin. In 1998 while in Wisconsin Gary was severely injured when a deranged man threw gasoline on him and the passengers on the bus he was driving. As the deadly fire engulfed everyone he bravely stayed at the controls and safely stopped the bus allowing all passengers to exit. After over a month in a coma and a long and painful recovery, in 2001 he decided to follow his dreams and move to Los Angeles after being accepted into a two-year training program for aspiring assistant television directors. After working as a production assistant on many television shows, including "The District", "Judging Amy," and “The Bernie Mack Show”, he wrote scripts for TV shows and movies. Hoping for the day one of his scripts got produced he truly enjoyed working as a Scheduler/Analyst for the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority where he worked for almost 20 years until his battle with cancer forced him to retire early. Although quiet in most settings once he got to know you he would open up and would be full of conversation sharing his vast knowledge on many different subjects. He was particularly knowledgeable of the film and TV industry and knew obscure facts about actors, directors and screenwriters. He had a healthy sense of humor and enjoyed a good joke. One of his favorite shows was Saturday Night Live. Gary will be dearly missed and remain forever in the hearts of all who knew him. He was predeceased by his father William Gene. Left to cherish Gary’s memory are his mother Virginia, his younger sister Marleah, his younger brother James and his nephews Dwayne, James II and Edward all of whom he loved dearly; and a host of family and friends. Relatives and friends are invited to William's Life Celebration on Friday, December 9, 2022 from 11 a.m. until the start of the service at 12 noon at the KALAS FUNERAL HOME & CREMATORY, 6160 Oxon Hill Rd., Oxon Hill, MD. Entombment Mt. Comfort Cemetery, Alexandria, VA.