Gary Solomonson Gary lived his early years passionately, in a small farming community in Minnesota's southwestern rolling prairie with its patchwork of meadows, lakes, rivers, marshlands, fields and grove-sized wooded areas surrounding small towns and family farms. It is this environment and its inhabitants which Gary brings vividly to life in The Yellow Barn Trilogy. Gary enjoyed volunteering from a very early age, especially in school, church, scouts, and regularly visiting seniors in their homes, nursing homes and hospitals, along with his father and mother who were very active volunteers for The Salvation Army. Following high school, he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Cloud State University with majors in philosophy and speech/theater arts and a minor in German language. From 1968-1972, he completed an additional four years of graduate studies at Luther Theological Seminary where he received a Masters of Divinity. Prior to graduation, Gary was invited by Bishop Kent S. Knudson of the American Lutheran Church (now the ELCA) to become part of a group of graduates interested in creating innovative ministries, known as worker-priest ministries, working a full-time secular job and volunteering for a part-time ministry. His worker-priest ministry focused on multifamily housing and senior living communities in the Twin Cities and, from those beginnings, Gary created a multi-layered career of creative and passionate service in the field of senior living and health care. For the last 40 years, he has worked to provide exceptional living environments, services and life enrichment programs for seniors, participating in the design, construction, marketing, managing and programming of a new generation of senior living and health care communities that raise the bar in terms of living environments, programs and services. Gary has 'painted' his dreams into reality, practicing his craft of 'marketers as healers' and working to make a positive difference in the lives of others. During his personal time, in addition to writing, Gary continues to explore the development of new models for volunteering and encouraging individuals of all ages to consider one-to-one volunteering for, by, or with individuals in their 80s and 90s.