Gary Frank Ehman

Gary Frank Ehman, age 84 died at his home in Mint Hill, North Carolina after a short battle with cancer. He was born in Milwaukee, WI on June 19, 1937 the son of William Ehman, Sr. and Louise Margaret (Gross) and moved with his family to rural Shawano County, WI, in the Town of Belle Plaine when he was six years old.

Gary attended grade school and three years of high school in Shawano, moving to Victoria, TX in 1954 with Jack and Dorothy Wussow, working as an airport line attendant, attending and graduating high school there and attaining a Private Pilot's license. He returned to his home in Shawano after graduation from high school and joined the United States Air Force spending four years in service to his country. He was honorably discharged in 1959.

Returning to Shawano he was employed by the Shawano Evening Leader as a printer/general features writer and was later promoted to a fulltime reporter position specializing in Indian affairs. He became managing editor of the paper in 1975. During this time, he married Linda Joan Cole on February 9th, 1975. Leaving the newspaper, he spent some time helping develop the Miekle Theatre as a CETA project manager and then re-entering the news world as News Director for Radio Stations WTCH/WOWN in 1979, a position he held until 1989. He then moved on to become the Communications Director for the Mohican Nation/ Stockbridge-Munsee Tribe.

After spending the first 30 years of his life as an avowed atheist, he was converted to Christianity in 1969, and was ordained an elder in the Worldwide Church of God in 1979. He became active in the Church serving several congregations in that organization. Later he was affiliated with the Global Church of God, serving congregations in Wisconsin, Upper Michigan, Minnesota and Illinois on a circuit basis. In 1998, he was hired full-time by the Living Church of God as Managing Editor of church publications, moving to San Diego, CA. He was instrumental in creating the churches Personal Correspondence Department (PCD) and remained in California when the Church moved operations to Charlotte, NC. He affectionately became known as the Desert Circuit Rider, pastoring churches in Palm Springs, Rancho Bernardo, CA, Tucson and Phoenix, AZ, and Las Vegas, NV. In 2004, he rejoined the Headquarters Church in Charlotte, resuming his position as head of PCD and pastoring churches in Statesville, Asheboro and Kannapolis, NC.

As a Pastor ranked minister, he continued working fulltime to the time of his death at his home ins Mint Hill, NC.

He was preceded in death by his parents, a sister Janice Schultz (Lewis), and brother William Jr. He is survived by his wife, Linda (they had no children), nephews Todd Ehman and Robert Schultz and numerous great nephews and nieces, along with spiritual brothers and sisters spanning the world.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.mcewenminthillchapel.com for the Ehman family.