His parents; Merlin and Bonita Esau, raised him in a very loving Christian home. He had one older sister, Debbie, and a younger sister, Karen. He loved riding in the back of his dad’s old 1936 Chevy truck. It was named Rackety-Boom. He attended Bible Baptist Church where he was Baptized on May 29th,1966.
Gary went to high school at Berean Academy in Elbing, KS, and graduated in 1977. There he participated in Basketball and Cross-country.
He had many jobs growing up. He began by delivering newspapers and then a bus boy at the Newton Country Club Restaurant, Kentucky Fried Chicken, Twin Bridges Gas, Elbing Grain Company, Coleman and the Sante Fe Railroad as a Switchman/ Brakeman.
He had a love for his cars. He enjoyed driving his 67 GTO and 70 Monte Carlo.
He met his wife, Karen Buller, in 1979, and they were married on December 5th, 1980, and resided in Newton, KS.
He continued to work at Santa Fe Railroad until he decided to pursue a different path. He went back to college and graduated from Butler County Community College with a science degree in Computer Technology. This gave him a new exciting opportunity to move to Lincoln, Nebraska, to work for TBL where he repaired computers for pharmacies in the states of Nebraska, Kansas and Iowa.
He had 2 children; Michael Gary, born in 1987 and Chelsea Lauran born in 1990,
He was so proud to watch them participate in numerous sports, school and church activities. He has 4 grandchildren, Aubree (16), Bryson (16), Adyson (9), and Journee (3).
Gary switched jobs in 1990 where he began working at Automated Systems. He worked there for 24 years as a computer service tech and as a service manager. He also carried a part-time job doing security on Saturdays at his church.
He attended St. Marks Methodist Church, where he became a member and was very involved by taking and teaching classes. He went on 3 mission trips to New Orleans with several other church members to help clean, reconstruct homes and witness God’s love to those who were affected by Hurricane Katrina.
After retiring from Automated Systems in 2014, he began working at the church full time as a Building Coordinator for 9 years.
Gary was diagnosed with type I diabetes when he was 23 years of age. He had many passions and goals and never allowed his diabetes to stop him. He loved the Rocky Mountains in Colorado and spent a lot of his vacation time hiking up 14,000 feet mountains. He was so dedicated that he would leave the campsites at 2 am to make sure he got to the top before any storms or lightning would hit. He hiked 30 of 54 of the “Fourteeners”.
Gary had many hobbies. He enjoyed playing softball as a catcher. He was on a bowling league for 31 years and participated in many national bowling tournaments In Reno, Nevada. He loved to ride his bike on the trails in Lincoln. He signed up for several bike ride events and achieved his goal to ride in the “Heatstroke Century Ride” that was over 100 miles in the heat of August. He later found out that event would have been much easier on a road bike than his mountain bike, but he did it!
Gary loved woodworking. He made many special banks, puzzles and jelly bean dispensers and other things out of wood for his children and family. He saw potential in his first family home in Lincoln. This is where his drafting knowledge came to the table and his drywall experiences began. He remodeled 2 of his family homes throughout his life including a clubhouse with a secret trap door. He probably has every tool you can imagine in his garage and if you have ever seen his garage, he probably has 2 of each or maybe more of some. He was a very talented man. In his family’s minds he could do anything and everything. There never was a call made to a plumber, electrician, appliance repair person or a carpenter. He did all of these things himself. If he wasn’t sure, there was always a book he could buy. He loved Spring where he would buy flowers to plant. He had a passion for a beautiful yard.
He taught his children the importance of always dressing up for church and filling out an application for a job, as that first impression always matters. Gary dressed to a T. He would always iron his shirt the night before working in the office as that mattered to him and always made sure his tie matched. He probably had over 100 ties.
He was a fan of Husker football and girls volleyball. He loved the Eagles, Chiefs and Nascar.
He is survived by his father, Merlin; wife Karen; son Michael; daughter Chelsea; sister Debbie (Bill) Chase and Karen (Mark) Ward;
He is also survived by 4 grandchildren.
Gary is preceded in death by his mother, Bonita and Grandparents
A Memorial Service will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, August 30th at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church (8550 Pioneers Blvd.) Burial 2:00 p.m. Lincoln Memorial Park.
Visitation will be held from 4:00-6:00 p.m. , Thursday, August 29th at Roper and Sons Midtown Chapel (4300 ‘O’ Street)
Memorials may be made to Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and Bryan Hospital Heath Systems for mental health awareness.