Youngest to Attain Rank : Gary O’Gorman, El Cajon Police Captain, Dies at 38

Gary O’Gorman, the youngest officer to achieve the rank of captain in the El Cajon Police Department, died Friday at Kaiser Hospital of heart failure. He was 38.

O’Gorman joined the El Cajon force in 1969 and was chosen officer of the year in 1971. He was promoted to captain of the services division, one of the top four posts in the department, in September, 1981, at the age of 33.

“He was great,” Lt. William McClurg said. “He worked well with youths and with his officers.”

O’Gorman reintroduced Saturday night dances at El Cajon Valley High School and was a team manager and a board member of the Lakeside Little League and Pony League.

McClurg said he had the qualities of a future police chief: “He was that kind of a leader.”

O’Gorman was a Santee resident and graduated from El Cajon Valley High in 1965 and the San Diego Police Academy in 1968. He later earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in criminal justice administration from San Diego State University.

His hobbies included camping and refurbishing Fords and Porsches.

He is survived by his wife, Sandy; his parents, Harry O’Gorman of Los Angeles and Shirley Cason of Alpine; two daughters, Michelle and Chista; a son, Barry; three sisters, Donna Altadonna and Debbie Brown of Los Angeles and Kelly Cason of Alpine, and three brothers, Mark O’Gorman and Toby O’Gorman of El Cajon and Noel Shryock of Alpine.

Services will be at noon Tuesday at Christ the King Lutheran Church in Fletcher Hills.