Dr. Gary Colangelo

Dr. Gary Colangelo, Tenor II

"After a 30-year furlough, when I retired I wanted to return to choral singing. A friend went to the first CAMP Rehoboth Chorus concert, ‘Room for All.’ She was very impressed and told me I should give it a try. I did, and it is the perfect fit."

It's said you can do a lot of good, if you don't worry about who gets the credit. That's certainly true of Gary. In his calm, unassuming way, Gary accomplishes much for the Chorus, his church, and beyond. Fortunately, he once received a little of the recognition he deserves—for his legs (read on!).

Growing up in Takoma Park, Maryland, Gary loved scouting. An Eagle Scout, he spent 10 summers as director of a Boy Scout Camp in Maryland and Virginia. This helped pay for a B.A. from Western Maryland College and a Doctor of Dental Science degree from the University of Maryland. As a student during the Vietnam War, Gary attended nearly all the Washington area protests against the war, usually as a Marshall or working in the first aid tent. In 1970, fresh out of Dental School, Gary joined the U.S. Army Dental Corps and was assigned to Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu. A war protestor joining the Army? No problem. Gary remained true to himself, balancing his love of country with his belief that Vietnam was an amoral, useless war. The first weekend he was on active duty, Gary exchanged his army uniform for his protest uniform—jeans, tattered military jacket, ball cap—and attended a peace rally at the state capital. At the same time, he proudly served in the Army (including 22 years in the Army Reserves) and felt great personal satisfaction in providing care to our service men and women, particularly those who had been in combat in Vietnam. 

A caring concern for others is evident in everything Gary does. Throughout his dental career, Gary worked to ensure that people had access to proper dental care regardless of their financial situation. His career included hospital-based and private practices; 15 years on the faculty at the University of Maryland Dental School; and 10 years as Dental Director for Blue Cross Blue Shield. It also included extensive and meaningful volunteer service. Gary successfully advocated at the Clinton White House for the inclusion of dental benefits for the Ryan White HIV/AIDS Program. He served as Vice President of the Maryland Foundation of Dentistry for the Handicapped and supported Operation Smile, two groups which provide free dental services for those without access to and/or unable to pay for this care. 

Gary has traveled extensively throughout Asia for the last 30 years—the Philippines, Japan, Thailand, Hong Kong Indonesia, Vietnam—for work and pleasure. In 1996, He was an emissary for Operation Smile and the World health Organization to the Minister of Health of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in Hanoi with responsibility for establishing faculty and student exchange programs with the Hanoi Medical College and finalizing a rural water fluoridation program. 

Gary and his husband, Jerry Duvall, met at Tripler Army Medical Center (Gary says the Army is a great place to meet a spouse.) They have been married for two years, but together for 43. In 2008, Gary and Jerry moved from Silver Spring, Maryland, to Rehoboth Beach and now share a home with Ziggy, their five year old Weimaraner. Technically retired, Gary is still very active. He has many interests—sailing, coin collecting and gardening—and is very involved in community and church affairs. Gary is the current Chair of the Delaware Oral Health Coalition, an oral health advocacy group, and Secretary and Board of Trustees member of the Unitarian Universalists of Southern Delaware (UUSD). He co-chairs the UUSD Capital Campaign that is raising the money needed to purchase property and build a permanent home for the church in Lewes; in the past two years, $560,000 has been donated or pledged to the campaign. 

Gary joined the CAMP Chorus in 2011. He was Treasurer on the Leadership Committee for three years. Among his many accomplishments as Treasurer, Gary was instrumental in the receipt of two major grants to the Chorus awarded by the Delaware Division of the Arts. In addition to the Chorus, he currently sings with the Lewes UUSD choir. His fondest memories of the Chorus so far—our Sonny and Cher, Max and Janet, singing "I Got You Babe" last season, and the chorus party at Beebe's house in 2013, when David played the piano and everyone sang and played drums. A special memory for the rest of us was Gary singing "Oh What A Beautiful Morning" at Possum Point during our Broadway Our Way concert.

Now about Gary's legs! While he was stationed in Hawaii back in the 1970s, Gary sang in the Honolulu Opera Chorus. He was voted "best legs in the cast" during the company's production of Faust. His reward for this achievement was to give flower leis to the principal singers after each performance. 

Thank you, Gary for who you are and all you do. You truly make a difference!