Song

Football

Football was a huge part of Gary's life. It is amazing to think he will not be here to watch Nate this year at Bingham. We are all so excited to go and watch him play. When I lived in California I remember talking on the phone to Gary and crying because I wanted to see Kevin play at Ricks and missed everyone. Always the caretaker he immediately had his secretary book me two plane tickets to come home and see the games that fall. He was so good to me. He was an amazing support to his family and his friends. I have so many memories watching him play or being with him at others games. If you can coach in heaven, I am sure he will still be coaching Nate this year from the sidelines....

A day to remember . . . . . .

Today is the anniversary of a day that I will never forget. August 5th, 2000. Of course Gary helped make this day possible by volunteering his time, money, and his oh so creative mind. I knew that I wanted to do something unforgettable and over the top so I called Gary to make it happen. He said . . . . I will fly you to Jackson Hole and you can propose over a nice dinner at the top of the mountain. This got me excited. I called up a limousine service and arranged some transportation from the landing strip to the restaurant(the wagoneer limo was tiiiiggghhhht!) I called the restaurant and made a "special reservation." Little did I know this would come to haunt me in the end. I had the ring ordered in Provo and it was supposed to show up at Don and Fayes on the morning of August 5th. Although this was risky I am a strong believer of just in time inventory . . . (with the biggest investment that I had ever made to that point . . . . and on one of the most important days of my life)

The big day finally arrived. Gary kept saying to me . . don't worry about it head(his favorite name for me) . . .we will have a great story ready that will throw Lindsay off. I answered Don and Faye's door at about 9:00 A.M. and it was the mailman delivering the rock. I tried to distract Lindsay because I knew she would be curious that I was getting a package at Don and Fayes. I secured the box in my sock underneath my levis and we took off to IF shortly after. I told Linds that we were going to Jackson and that Gary was taking us over in his plane. We headed to the airport and loaded into the cessna(see pic below). It was a perfect day to fly and the ride over was incredible other than I was nervous beyond belief. I had taken a huge risk by stealing Lindsay's mom ring and having it completely redone without knowing if she would accept my invitation to get married. She had to say yes when she saw what I had done and how beautiful the ring was . . . . . . . . . right?

The fun began with Gary and Teresa when we landed and they started lying like a chicken. It got to the point where I didn't know what was true and what wasn't. Come to find out they were just white lyes according to Gary:) We saw the wagoneer limousine and Teresa told us that they weren't going to be able to accompany us to dinner because she needed some time alone with Gary. She had to break it to him that she was pregnant and he was going be irate because they weren't planning on it and the timing was bad. We hopped in the limo and headed up the mountain to a restaurant overlooking Jackson Hole. I ordered elk fajitas and Linds ordered something else. It was so painfully obvious that the waiter and waitresses were excited for us and knew about the proposal that I decided not to propose in the restaurant. We caught them staring at us on a few different occasions and later had a good laugh at their bad acting. I didn't even finish half of my plate due to my nerves and Linds said later that things were starting to add up.

I took her outside and spotted a bench on the other side of the stream we were walking along. Linds must have known at this point because she wouldn't sit down on the bench when we finally got there . . .it seemed like an eternity to walk only a 50 yards to the bench. When she finally sat down I "busted out the ring" and asked my sweetheart if she wanted to spend forever with me. It was a very emotional moment and she said yes . . . . . . of course.

Gary and Teresa showed up at the perfect time as we were walking back to the restaurant and we all celebrated and talked about the events leading up to that day. They untangled their web of lies and Teresa told us that she was really pregnant(I hope Don isn't reading this) but that Gary wasn't irate. We are all so grateful for cute little Sadie Soupus. We boarded the plane and the turbulence was too much. Teresa, Linds and I were suddenly deathly ill with motion sickness and as joyous as the day had been to that point it suddenly took a 180 degree turn for the worse. . . . . . and it was not just unpleasant it was extremely unpleasant. I was the first to lose it and I filled the magazine pouch with elk fajitas. Linds lasted until we hit the tarmac and then she lost it . . . . .all over the sparkling diamond that I was so proud of and into her magazine pouch. I don't know how Teresa held her lunch down. I couldn't wait to get out of there with the hot air circulating the vomit smell in and out of our nostrils . . . . and then Gary had a clever idea. He said he would be right back.

With his contagious chuckle he pulled two dixie cups out from behind his back and wished us good luck. It was a bonding moment for the newly engaged couple as we cleaned up each others vomit.

I miss Gary. I miss him biting me and making me laugh. I miss hanging out with him . . . . fishing, golfing, hunting, tennis, playing basketball and going to apple gym to name a few things. Nobody told a story like Gary and after he tore you down he would always make you laugh and feel better. I know that he is not far from us. He is watching over his family and will be a part of many special events to come.

Gary and His Kids

Our "d-a-double-d dad" is an extremely loving father who absolutely loves his kids. He's never afraid to show his affection by biting, tickling, and torturing. He is very supporting with all of our sports and activities. He never missed one of his sons games in any sport and was never afraid to give a little coaching, regardless if he know anything about the activity or sport being played. He taught good morals and how to work hard. His infamous tag lines became a part of us. "Trying is what they do in the special Olympics, don't try do", "Don't ever say can't", "you only have to tell the truth 100 percent of the time. Other than that you don't have to" were often part of the daily lectures we all received. He had a deep seeded love for his "little chickens" (his little girls). Every single night without fail, when he came home he would slam the door so everyone heard then he would clap his hands one time and say "where wasa ma....(kid)" and the the little girls would come running from where ever and whatever mess they were making to give they're dad a hug and a kiss. He adored his little girls with loving nicknames like midgets, 25 pounder, 28 incher, turds nuggets....etc. Almost every weekend he would get everyone together to go do a family activity which despite his best efforts usually ended in tears and a whipping. However looking back they were some of the funnest times as well. Rules never really applied to father, he's the exception to all the rules. So we always got to do things that nobody else got to. The kids were taught a deep respect for their father and father made sure that the respect given to him should be doubled for the respect they give their mother.

SLC Airport

This is at the SLC airport before I left for Germany on my mission. I am sure I was telling him a story and we were communicating with sarcasm. We shared a similar sense of humor and with his quick wit we were always laughing. He called me "slash" because I went through a phase where I always said slash in all my conversations. He also called me "wom" for most of my life. I am grateful for the close relationship we had. Gary was always there for every big event of my life. He made the trip with his whole family down to the airport to see me off. He was always so supportive and made the extra effort to do things together as much as possible. His family was everything to him. Whenever I came home to visit he was always the first one there and made fun plans for us. He was the life of the party.

Gary and Landon

I love this picture. One of Gary's best known traits was his love for kids an especially babies. He was outside the delivery room actually talking to my Dr. Crouch and making bets about when the baby would come. I know if I would have given him the word, he would have been there for the birth of Landon although he may have passed out in the process. He loved to be the first on the scene and was always so supportive. Landon had RSV so was hospitalized shortly thereafter. I was a fanatic about having everyone use hand sanitizer. The joke when Landon was blessed was that I was going to make all those who participated in the blessing wash their hands with sanitizer before they went up to the front of the chapel. Gary loved to take Landon and run away from me just to get a rise out of me. He was so much fun and always called Landon "midget." Landon actually thought Gary's name was midget. He tells his friends now about his Uncle Gary and how he lives with Heavenly Father.

Germany

This is a picture of Gary when he came and suprised me in Germany. I was at home during a preparation day when the doorbell rang which is very strange for missionaries to have company. I answered the door and Gary yelled (in typical Gary fashion). He and Teresa had come to Germany on business and made arrangements to stop and see me for a day. It was an awesome suprise. My mission president and companion knew about it beforehand so they had made sure we were home. He had rented a car and had an awesome time driving on the autobahn where you can drive really fast. He did fall asleep in traffic and I had to wake him up because of jet lag. We went to Colonge and saw the sites there and they even came with me to visit a member, Martina Masur. She was one of my favorites and I really wanted Gary to meet her. Another awesome suprise on my mission was when the phone rang one Mother's day and it was Gary. I was lecturing him about breaking the rules and he was telling me "rules are suggestions" when I heard Kevin on the line. It was so neat to be able to talk to Kevin because we were both serving missions at the same time although he was in Uraguay. This is the kind of thing Gary was always famous for....making the impossible, possible. Gary hung up after a while and Kevin and I talked. These are some of my great mission memories. Gary also spoke at my farewell. The essence of his talk was surrounding D&C 82:10...."I the Lord am bound when ye do what I say but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise." That is one of my favorite scriptures.