Gale R. Traver Dies; Developer, Horse Breeder

Services will be Friday for Gale R. Traver, a prominent San Diego developer, restaurateur and horse breeder, who died earlier this week of complications from cancer surgery.

Traver, 69, had a longtime interest in thoroughbred horses and helped develop Erins Isle, a horse that won more than $1 million in its racing career. In the 1960s Traver also owned the Colony House restaurant in Chula Vista, a popular South Bay businessmen’s gathering spot. Most recently, he founded Park and Ride, an airport service mainly for North County commuters.

His wife, Priscilla, described Traver, who died Monday, as a “very dynamic person,” well-liked by many people.

He was born in Cincinnati on Jan. 13, 1916, and moved to Torrance when he was 16. In World War II he served as an Army sergeant in the Pacific. He moved to the San Diego area a few years after the war.

His first business was Ken W. Baird, a farming company that grew, packed and shipped fresh produce. As a part owner, he helped operate the company for 15 years. He next became a partner in Border Properties, which built parking lots along the Mexican border. That firm was dissolved last year.

Traver and his wife founded Park and Ride eight years ago after they decided they didn’t like being retired.

Besides his wife, Traver is survived by two sons, Thomas of San Francisco and Donald of Portland, Ore.; three daughters, Joyce Atchison of Chula Vista; Susan Heaney of Morrilton, Ark., and Alice Millard of Encinitas, and a sister, Jean Grey of Arcadia.

Services are scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at Greenwood Memorial Park. The family requests contributions be given to the American Cancer Society.