Gary Wayne England

Gary was born on October 18, 1978, in Paoli, IN, to Gary Sr. and Deborah (Lampkins) England. He spent his early years growing up in Piersontown, IN, where he was the youngest of their three children.

He attended Troop Elementary and Paoli Jr.-Sr. High School and went on to work at Major League Electronics in New Albany, where he was the Vice President of Operations. Gary started at MLE 26 years ago as a custodian and worked his way up through maintenance, shift supervisor, and production manager before being named Vice President of Operations in 2019.That journey says a lot about his work ethic, but it says even more about his character. He wore a lot of hats over the years, but the one thing he did better than anyone was bring people together.

Gary had a way of making you smile, making you laugh, and making you feel like you mattered. Whether it was a great story, a go-to food recommendation, or jumping in to finish just about any song lyric you threw at him, he made every day better.

He enjoyed playing his guitar, or any instrument with strings, and he was always singing. He loved to travel and spend time with the love of his life, Rachel, and their two sons, Noah and Sylas. He loved to grill or smoke any kind of meat and would often make sure that everyone knew how good he was at it!

Gary was one of the funniest people you could ever know and will be remembered for his ability to make everyone laugh. He was the life of the party, and you definitely had so much fun when he was around. He loved basketball and was a devoted fan of the Kentucky Wildcats.

Gary loved Jesus and lived his life serving Him. When he was 16 years old, he joined his family's Southern Gospel band, The Manship’s, where he played bass guitar and often stepped in to sing a song. He went on to lead worship at several churches over the years. Gary and Rachel were founding members of Forward Church in New Albany.

Gary is survived by his wife, Rachel (Hoeppner) England; their two sons, Noah England and Sylas England; and his parents. He is also survived by his brother, Jeffry England (Denise), and his sister, Rachel (England) McWhirter (Kenny), as well as his in-laws and many nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his maternal grandparents, William Junior Lampkins and Barbara (Manship) Lampkins, and his paternal grandparents, Floyd England and Eva (Carlisle) England.

A Celebration of Life service will be held on May 11 at 11:00 a.m. at Forward Church, 341 Vincennes Street in New Albany.

Gary will be greatly missed by all who knew and loved him