Gary Dwight Crowell was born 1-7-41 in Canadian, Texas. He was the only boy out of three children. He had an older sister, Beverly, and a younger sister, Dana. In his youth, Gary was your typical boy full of energy and mischief. Like all young boys, Gary loved to tease his two sisters and pull off practical jokes. One time while he and his sister, Beverly, were doing the dishes, Gary gave Beverly a playful push and accidentally put a rather noticeable dent in the wall. Gary used to tell us of another funny story about the time they went to visit Uncle Aub. Uncle Aub had a rather large rooster that Gary went to check out. Once he came too close to the rooster and the rooster charged at him. Out of fear, Gary gave a swift, powerful kick and accidentally ended the rooster’s life.
To use up that abundance of childhood energy, Gary turned his focus to two sports that he loved…baseball and football. He always enjoyed those sports and could play them for hours on end. One of his favorite childhood sports memories was a time when he was playing football at school. The quarterback threw a beautiful pass to a receiver that Gary was covering. As the ball bounced off the kid’s chest, Gary dashed over and intercepted the ball, grabbing it just above the shoelaces and running it back for a touchdown!
In his youth, Gary attended various schools as his family moved from place to place. He did enjoy going to Amarillo High School and Imperial Valley College.
Gary has worked numerous jobs. His first paying job was sanding blocks of wood for a company making furniture and cabinets. As a teenager, Gary bagged groceries at a local grocery store. In his early adult years, Gary served 4 years with the US Navy.
After leaving the Navy, Gary met Fe’ Perez his first real love. They were a beautiful couple, young and vibrant. They were married on 2/8/64. This was the start of many great things, four of them to be exact:
David Ernest born 11/13/65, Maria Elizabeth born 10/25/67, Christina Ruth born 1/1/69, Katherine Edna born 2/16/71.
Over the years, our family had so many great moments. Gary was and will always be an awesome father. He shaped our lives through love, happiness, and faith in the Lord.
Gary was a great provider for the family. Gary worked various sales jobs for office machine companies like Wang, SCM Merchant, and Olivetti. Gary was always a top producer, but his most memorable achievement was being Salesman of the Year for Olivetti where they flew their top performers, and wives, to an all-inclusive trip to Puerto Rico. Throughout the 70’s and 80’s, Gary stopped working for others and operated his own businesses. These include his first business, Coronado Interiors, in which he left to start up his second business, Cove Carpets and Linoleum.
In 1984, his marriage to Fe’ began to fall apart and they divorced in 1985. The following few years were filled with pain, regret, sadness, and loneliness. He lost his business and Fe’ remarried. It seemed like his life spiraling down the drain, but actually it was the flushing of better things to come.
About five years after the divorce, Gary went to the Philippines and met his second true love, Maria Teresa Coyoca. She was beautiful, wholesome, and years younger. They made a perfect match and married on 5/5/89. Their marriage lit Gary’s internal flame and sparked him to start his third business, GD Crowell & Associates, which today continues to flourish.
They wasted no time in starting a family. God blessed them with four beautiful children. John Paul born 10/30/90, Grace Michelle born 4/8/92, Vanessa Ashley born 9/17/98, Sarah Marie born 11/15/02.
From 1997-1999, Gary went through some challenging times when he was diagnosed with cancer. Our whole family was distraught with worry and fear. How could something so terrible happen to a man who has brought happiness to so many? A man full of love, laughter, and the Lord. During the whole crisis, Gary was amazing. His attitude at any given time was incredibly positive. His strong faith in God, along with his soothing words, continued keeping everyone calm. In fact I will always remember these great words he said to me that gave me warmth and comfort.
“Son, don’t worry. I am not ready to go yet. I still have so many years left. But if it is God’s will to take me now, I can honestly say that I have lived a happy and fulfilling life. God has blessed me with so much joy, especially through all my kids. So don’t worry…I am not ready to go just yet.”
Through his faith, his strength, and his courage, Gary beat the cancer and inspired many who know and love him. Gary recovered so quickly and bounced back to enjoying life; we often forget that he even had cancer.
On his birthday, 1/7/2009, Gary suffered a stroke. We were very fortunate that he was able to get to the hospital in good time to minimize any real damage. He quickly recovered and was back to his fun ways.
On January 28, 2016, Gary checked into the hospital for surgery to repair an esophagus tear which is a dangerous procedure that one can die from at his age. He spent about 3 weeks at the hospital before going home. Recovery from this procedure was very difficult requiring numerous doctor visits throughout 2017 and 2018 as the healing process was slow. He lost about 20 lbs. He started to have constant pain in his legs as his sciatic nerve was being pinched by the compressing of his spine and shrinking of the discs.
In the summer of 2018 Gary had some skin cancer removed on his leg, face, and the top of his head. Still not back to full health.
On November 4, 2018 Gary was transported to UCSD Hospital by ambulance due to a blood clot in his legs dislodging and moving into his lungs. He fought hard to clear the clot and, in the process, his heart stopped 3 times. I truly believe he held out as long as he could so that his family could see him in his last breathes, shower him with hugs and kisses, and whisper our last words in his ears. At 12:58 pm Gary passed and started off on his next journey to be with God, our almighty Father in Heaven.
God’s plan was perfect because Gary wouldn’t have wanted to stick around if he didn’t have his full wits and capabilities. He will always be remembered for his numerous great qualities. Here is the short list of some that set him apart from the average man:
Great attitude on life with God at the center
An admirable father with the deepest love for his children
Incredible personality: humorous, honest, and patient
Superb card player (hard to beat at Cribbage, Hearts, & Spades)
Simple man uninterested in materialism
Tough man on the outside, huge heart on the inside
Extremely competitive…a true “winner”
Extraordinary role-model
Unbelievably virile…still making babies in his 60’s!
Loved dancing and had some great moves
Gary lived an incredible life. He left a lasting impression on all those he came into contact with. He loved to spend quality time with his wife Maria, ALL his children, and his grandkids. Gary’s ex-wife Fe’ and her husband Bob were always around to celebrate all the holidays, birthdays, and special events. God has truly blessed our large blended family with unbelievable love and happiness and Gary was the center.
Rest in peace, Gary, and thank you for the legacy you left behind.
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