I am Lezlie, a close friend of Gary and Michelle Lorant and part of the inflatable industry Gary called family. With Michelle’s blessing, I am organizing this GoFundMe to help their family with expenses after the loss of Gary, their patriarch and main provider. All donations are directly linked to Michelle.

It is with great heartache that I share a huge, sad, and shocking loss to our industry. A wonderful friend and a supporter to so many of us, Gary Lorant, passed away yesterday, March 24. I am sharing this GoFundMe for his family, who he loved more than anything, so we can come together and support them during this incredibly difficult time.

Gary Lorant, a dear friend and a true source of comic relief in the inflatable industry, has left this world and found peace on the other side.

It is hard to imagine anyone in this industry who did not know Gary. From operators to vendors and everyone in between, Gary made himself known. He was loud, obnoxious in the funniest way, full of joy, full of laughter, and the kind of person who could instantly change the mood in a room. There was nothing this guy would not do to get a laugh, be part of the fun, and bring smiles to others, even if it meant we were all laughing at him and he was laughing right along with us.

When Gary had your back, he had it all the way. He would go to the ends of the earth and back to support any one of us when support was what we needed most.

More than anything, he deeply loved his wife, Michelle, his three girls, Bre, Lyndsey, and Natalee, and his son-in-law Chayton, whom he was always so proud of for being able to fit in as a Lorant — not many people can take it, but Chayton not only handled it, he owned it and loved it. And his new grandson Carson, who made him GPop for the very first time this past October.

Right now, his family needs the love and support of the community Gary was such a big part of. I have created this opportunity for our industry to come together the way we always do when one of our own — someone we have worked with, adored, laughed with, and shared life with — needs us most.

Please consider giving what you can and sharing this throughout the community so Michelle, Bre, Lyndsey, Natalee, Chayton, and Carson can focus on carrying a grief that is simply overwhelming.

Carson was so blessed to have the time he did with his GPop.

So much love to the Lorant family. We are heartbroken for Gary, for his family, and for all who knew and loved him.

Rest easy, Gary. You sure made this world a lot louder, funnier, and better while you were here.