In Memory: Gap Pucci

AMHA mourns the passing of Gaspari “Gap” Pucci. Gap passed away at his home in the Hoback Canyon in Wyoming on October 7, 2024, at the age of 89. If his name rings a bell, you may have read about him in the August 2020 issue of The Morgan Horse. The article was entitled, “Gap Pucci: The Only Sicilian Cowboy West of the Mississippi.” Author Julia Arnold wrote, “What do you get when you put a Sicilian-American huntsman in the wilds of Wyoming, add a tiny log cabin with no electricity, running water, or telephone, and throw in a dozen or so Morgan horses? You get the unique Gaspari ‘Gap’ Pucci, one of the few, self-described ‘true mountain men’ remaining in the United States, if not the world.” 

Growing up in Pennsylvania, a farrier by trade, Gap married his wife, Peggy, and the two set out on the adventure of a lifetime. Founding Crystal Creek Outfitters in 1976 (with Morgan horses, of course), Gap became a legendary guide for thousands of sportsmen in Wyoming. Then in 2011 at age 76, he published his first book “We Married Adventure” sharing his life’s adventures with all. A second book followed “We Do the Damndest Things” in 2015, with a third one currently in the works. 

Gap is survived by his wife, Peggy, and their daughters, Catherine Puche and Teresa Pucci-Haas; son-in-law Shane; and grandchildren Harley and Colton. Services were held on October 17, 2024. 

Obituary courtesy of the Jackson Hole News & Guide. Read it in its entirety HERE. 

Subscribers to The Morgan Horse may read the article online HERE: (Page 36)