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Gary Moles and wife Denay, are surrounded by Greg Laragan, Loren Thomas,
Monica Crider and son Alex (maroon sweatshirt).

Moles vacates D-3 maintenance position,
heads into retirement after nearly 32 years

District 3 Maintenance Engineer Gary Moles stepped aside Friday (March 4) after nearly 32 years at ITD to pursue a retirement filled with classic cars, fishing and grandchildren.

Moles always characterized his role as that of an offensive lineman, leading the charge and opening holes for others to run through. As a hard-charging lineman, he was a Region 4 Resident Engineer for three years before becoming the district’s main maintenance man in February of 2009.

He started as an Engineer in Training in November 1979, and also held jobs as materials and traffic engineer along the way. He spent the first two years in Lewiston and the remainder of his career at District 3 in Boise – all in the Division of Highways.

The retired maintenance engineer said working on both construction and maintenance was especially beneficial in his career. An emphasis on funding and budget marked Moles’ last years with the department.

He and wife Denay have been married for 24 years, with one son (Alex, wife Taunya) and three grandchildren (Samantha, Kyle and Trinity).

What will he do with his time now?

“I know you have a passion for older cars, so are you going to devote your time to that? … fishing?… spending time with the grandkids? … vacationing? … all of the above?” Communications Specialist Reed Hollinshead asked Moles recently.

“You’ve pretty much nailed my agenda,” he replied. “It should be fun. We don’t have any trips planned just yet. I plan on relaxing a bit and working on a few projects around the house in the short term. It’s funny how quickly my ‘to-do’ list expands...”

Colleague Dan Davis, maintenance foreman from the Banks shed whom Moles promoted during his time with ITD, said, “Gary was a breath of fresh air with a willingness to get things done. He allowed the foreman the flexibility to run their operations with little interference and was always willing to assist in any way he could by pointing us in the right direction. Gary dove into the issues of appropriation of manpower and equipment throughout the district to better serve the traveling public. Gary’s support for his troops will be greatly missed.”

“I worked with Gary many years ago when I was the District 6 Project Development Engineer, and Gary was my counterpart in HQ Roadway Design,” said District 3 Engineer Dave Jones. “Gary’s assistance and support for our design work was outstanding, and he truly demonstrated that HQ and the districts can forge effective and enjoyable partnerships for the common good. It was one of the best experiences of my career.”

Speaking of the transition from a regional concept to the district’s present structure, which breaks up maintenance and construction activities to allow a singular focus, Jones said, “Being a former ITD State Maintenance Engineer, I have high expectations and thus set a high bar for what I want from D-3 maintenance and their leader. Gary rose to that challenge and leaves us in great shape as we move forward.”

Speaking for all, he added “I am happy for Gary in his retirement, and also very jealous. Most important, I wish him good health and good hobby work.”