Gary X

My brother Gary X passed on the night before Thanksgiving 2007. Below are the words we put together for his eulogy. My brother Geoffrey wrote most of them and to him I am deeply indebted.

Gary is the oldest of my brothers and one year younger than I. At the time this happened my mind went blank as though the piece of my brain was gone that he had resided in and if it were not for Geoffrey and my other siblings I would not have been able to put two words together in his memory. Following are the words I said in his honor and memory in what were some of the hardest two or three minutes so far in my life.

Gary X was son, brother, Father, Grandfather, uncle and friend. He was indeed all of these things but to many of us he was more than one. In my mind he was friend above all. The prevailing theme throughout all of the family gatherings in the last couple of weeks has been that of Gary the friend. Leah mentioned the drive out to Dayton he took one day to fix her car where she was stranded, he stayed for hours until it was fixed. Scott has talked about the tireless endless days Gary worked when they were building his house. And just days before he passed my oldest daughter Patience was telling the story of the Christmas when she was five years old excitedly leaning over the railing of the second story of our parents home when the railing let go. Gary turned just at that moment and caught her at the bottom of the stairs. Gary the friend, the man with his hands out to help. As I look at all of the people here today I see many with similar stories and I hope that we will be allowed to hear of them today and over time.

Gary X was born in Minneapolis Minnesota on September 15th 1959. Our family moved to Richland when he was a young boy. Gary attended Christ the King school and was an altar boy for Msgr. Sweeney and was very involved in the Boy Scouts here in this Parish with troop 249.
In October of 1976 he joined the Navy. After his time in the service Gary, who was a free spirit and lived life on his own terms decided to see the country. If he felt that his life would be better served living somewhere else he picked up and moved. Some of us look at a map and say “someday I think I might go there” Gary looked at a map –or maybe he didn’t and just went, gathering his family around him always finding a home, always finding work and always finding friends.
He lived all over this country. Yes, there were trials and tribulations that went along with his lifestyle but he always overcame them. Gary was very resilient and whatever this world threw at him he overcame and endured. He was a survivor.

Gary was a talented man, self-taught in many disciplines; carpentry and auto mechanics, dry wall and painting, he could draw and tell an incredible story. He loved all of the out of doors and was an avid camper and fisherman. Gary could live off the land if he wished to. Gary was truly one of the Renaissance men of our age.
One of his proudest accomplishments though, came when he returned to the Tri-Cities and earned his Associates Degree in Design Engineering. So as a note to any of us who play the Columbia Point golf course know that Gary is in many of the curves and hills as some of Gary’s drawings were used in the final design.

On November 21st of this year The Lord called Gary X home. I cannot help but think what a wonderful surprise they got in Heaven the first time they heard him laugh. A laugh that full and large usually only comes from a man twice his size. I know that the surroundings became brighter with the intensity of his smile and the temperature rose with the warmth of his heart.

We here on earth are sad because we were not yet ready to share him, but no doubt The Lord called him home because he needed him. We do not know what Gary will be needed for, Heaven is perfect and there may be no houses to build or cars to repair, no hungry to feed, but it is enchanting to think of Gary always ready to help, perhaps fixing the strap of an Angels sandal.

We are sad here, but we should try to rejoice, for God knows what he is doing and he knows that Gary has lived more life in his 48 years here on earth than most of us can claim to have when we reach twice that.

Gary has always been spiritually one with nature; I suspect that nature was in a manner of speaking his ‘church’. His spiritual home was the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. It is by his request that his final resting place be there in the mountains that he so loved.So Gary, as a family we promise you this, you will have your wish and we will find the most beautiful mountain vista we can and it will be your earthly home for eternity.