Gary Thomas McIlroy

Gary Thomas McIlroy, aged 81, passed away peacefully at Finnish Home in Vancouver, British Columbia, with his wife Marlene Travis at his side, on February 17, 2022. His battle with Parkinson's disease, diagnosed in 1996, showed his resilience and courage in facing life’s challenges with a smile and positive attitude. Despite his gradual loss of mobility and speech as the disease progressed, along with the loss of sight in one eye, he was sharp as a tack mentally and lived each and every day to the fullest.

Gary was born on July 26th, 1940, in Minot, North Dakota. When he was 6 months old, the family moved to El Segundo, California, on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. His mother Helen worked as a Registered Nurse, and Gary worked with his father, Ken, who started a sand business - McIlroy Sand Blasting. A serious injury which needed medical attention landed Gary in a doctor's office where he was impressed by the environment, the doctor, and all the respect he received... and Gary decided that was the career for him. A direction was set.

In 1958 Gary moved to Washington, DC, where he graduated with a degree in Chemistry from George Washington University. It was during that time that he met Marlene Travis, the love of his life, at a dance party. Marlene asked him what dance he was doing; his response: 'The Gary Dance'. In 1962 Gary moved back to Los Angeles, married Marlene, and began Medical School at UCLA. He studied an extra year in Pathology. Their children, Jennifer and Monte, were born in Santa Monica and at UCLA respectively.

In 1968 the family moved to Rochester, Minnesota, and Gary took up his Residency in Pathology at Mayo Clinic. During that time, he became a conscientious objector to the Vietnam War and upon being drafted, fought and won a rare and long legal battle against the Department of Defense, receiving an administrative discharge.

In 1972 the family moved to Wisconsin where Gary took a job with the Marshfield Clinic for a few months and then moved to Brainerd, Minnesota, where he took a position as a Pathologist at St. Joseph's Hospital. It was there that Gary formed Midwest Laboratory Associates (MLA). In 1977 the family moved to Edina, Minnesota, in order to expand the medical laboratory business.

A visionary entrepreneur at heart, Gary, along with Marlene, sold MLA, and in 1977, they started Health Risk Management (HRM), a successful healthcare data management company with large medical databases and sophisticated medical informatics processes, including algorithms for diagnosis and treatment options. They took the company (HRMI) public in 1990 and grew the business to include customers in Europe and across the United States and Canada. HRMI had 1000 employees, in 10 branches and 3 subsidiaries in the United States and Canada. The company’s medical information systems were ground breaking, and won many awards and recognition for innovations in healthcare management and use of technology. The annual revenue was $225M when it was taken over by a corporate raider in 2001.

Both in and outside of business, Gary held everyone's attention with the mischievous twinkle in his eye and witty way of being. He enjoyed travel to many countries, painting, dancing, singing karaoke, playing golf, biking, and skiing among other activities, and truly lived each day to the fullest. He was not shy to share his love and pride of his loving wife Marlene, children Jennifer and Monte, and his treasured grandson Travis. He loved to joke and tell a good story. He was a realist, very principled and sometimes stubborn, but fair. To explain the outcome of unfortunate life scenarios, he often used the tag line "life is not fair," whereas in more inspirational moments, "in the roller coaster of life, may there be more ups than downs".

Gary was a devoted husband and parent. Family was a priority, which meant dinners together, walks around the city lakes, local outings, and generously providing many family vacations to experience new things and spend time with each other. In fact, in his family, Gary was known as the "trip director". Whenever they arrived at their destination, he would swarm the hotel's activity desk and immediately fill the schedule with all he could fit in, including some creative bartering such as if he didn't catch a certain fish, he wouldn't have to pay for the trip. Monte quips that Gary would often tell him he was his favorite son with a smile and grin, for he meant it, but they also had a good laugh together since he was the only son.

Gary was preceded in death by his parents Ken and Helen (nee Vadnais) McIlroy, parents-in-law Buster and Della (nee Campbell) Travis, brothers Jack, Ken "Junior", Dwaine, and Paul McIlroy, as well as brothers-in-law Brian, Roy, and Dick Travis, Dick Scragg, Lee Wallace, and Max Vandenberg. Gary is survived by his devoted wife Marlene, his beloved children daughter Jennifer Travis-McIlroy Johnson (Andrew Johnson) and grandson Travis Johnson, son Montgomery "Monte" McIlroy (Susan Orlowski), sisters Donna Vandenberg and Gladys "Cory" Wallace, brothers Charles, Ned, and Don McIlroy, sisters-in-law Karen Scragg, Linda York, Donna Travis, Carmen Werstiuk, Anne Travis and Susan McIlroy, as well as many cousins, nieces, nephews, and great nieces and nephews.

The family wishes to thank all of the nurses, doctors, and staff at Finnish Home for their love, kindness, and support of Gary. He loved all the music and extracurricular fun they generously provided.

We will all miss our Gary; he was a dear friend, brother, uncle, husband, father, and grandfather. His wish was to have his ashes eventually be joined with Marlene's in Darwell, Alberta.

A celebration of Gary's life will be planned for a later date to be announced.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donations denoted “in honor of Gary McIlroy” to Finnish Home, 2288 Harrison Drive, Vancouver, British Columbia, V5P 2P6, Canada. If mailing from the United States, please note that an international stamp is required.