We are sad to report that the founder and long time Director of the University of Washington (UW) Center for Health Workforce Studies, Dr. L. Gary Hart, passed away April 13, 2020. Gary earned his PhD in Medical Geography at the UW in 1985 and co-founded, with Dr. Roger Rosenblatt, the WWAMI Rural Health Research Center in 1988. He served as that Center’s Director from 1989 until 2007. In 1998 Gary launched and served as the Director of the UW Center for Health Workforce Studies. In 2007, Gary left the UW for a position at the University of Arizona, later moving to North Dakota to become the Director of the Center for Rural Health at that University’s School of Medicine and Health. Gary’s scientific contributions continue to guide the research of UW CHWS, WWAMI RHRC, the UW Department of Family Medicine and his role as a mentor and teacher were instrumental in building new generations of health workforce and rural health researchers. Our sympathies are with Gary’s wife, Shelly, and his children. In honor of Gary, memorials are welcome at The National Rural Health Foundation or Journey Home Animal Rescue.