My name is Melissa and I’m the youngest sister to Gary, my beloved brother.

Gary (known to our family as Steve because my dad is also Gary Stephen) was the most loving, loyal, compassionate, silliest, fill-a-room-with-so-much-light-and-laughter guy. He was the best son to our mom and dad, the greatest father to his beautiful girls Korryn, Hannah, and Caroline, and the greatest brother to Jacquelyn, Theresa, and myself. Gary had nieces and nephews that absolutely adored him, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends that were family, his Marine family, and his animals. He just loved. He gave so much, always. The guy that would hop on the road and drive 15 hours to hug you, the guy that would give you the shirt off his back, the guy you would call to come help you rebuild an engine, spruce up your landscaping, fix anything that was broken in your house. He was a fixer at heart. He was a helper. He was a special guy. He could cook like no other, loved country music, God, and his country. A die-hard Detroit Lions fan. A muscle car enthusiast. A badass. A Marine. A true American hero.

I could go on and on about him and his heart of gold, but I don’t know how much text I could put in here.

He had so much more to do here on earth.

Someone said there is a place in heaven for heroes like him, and I’m holding on to that.

Please keep our family, especially his daughters and my parents, in your thoughts and prayers as we navigate this immense sudden loss.

Gary would never want me to do this; he would have too much pride for it, but being his baby sister, he probably knew we would need to help take care of his girls and animals.

Please consider donating to help my nieces and my ex-sister-in-law navigate. We are praying for them to have peace and relieve some of the financial burdens that will arise in the coming days, weeks, and months.

I truly appreciate you taking the time to read this and consider helping in any way. All of the funds will go directly to my nieces.

We would love to hear your shared memories and stories of our dear Gary❤️

Psalm 34:18: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”