Gary Allan Remy

Gary Allan Remy, 74, peacefully passed away on November 3, 2022, following a sudden illness compounded by complications from muscular dystrophy. Gary happened to pass on his mother's would-be 110th birthday.

Gary was born on October 2, 1948, in Portland, OR to Clarence and Cara Remy. The beloved baby brother of five, he had a hard working yet idyllic upbringing on the family farm in Battle Ground, WA. The Remy farm started out as a dairy farm when Gary was young, eventually expanding into a hog and hay farm. Gary cleaned the hog pens each morning before school. He further mowed, raked, baled, and hauled hay every summer. A brilliant storyteller, Gary was never short on tales of the sibling adventures of his childhood.

Gary graduated from Battle Ground High in 1966 and went on to college at Washington State University (WSU). While earning a BA in history, Gary was inducted into the Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Kappa Phi Academic Honor Societies. On September 14th, 1968, while still in college, Gary married his hometown sweetheart, Christine (Chris) Poff. He then moved straight into graduate school and served as the President of the MBA Students' Association. In May of 1972, Gary earned his MBA, graduating at the top of his class as a Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society member.

Gary was tempted to stay in Pullman to earn his PhD and start a career as a professor, but decided to enter the private sector instead. After graduating from WSU, Gary accepted a job at Holtzinger Fruit Company, which brought Gary and Chris to the Yakima Valley. The couple later welcomed daughter, Jana Kay and son, Brock Allan.

For over thirty years, he would play a key role in Holtzinger Fruit's growth. In fact, Gary was the company's sole salesman for several years before hiring a staff of very talented salespeople as the company grew. Perhaps due to his childhood working on the farm, Gary's work ethic made him a tireless employee. Gary used his acute understanding of international markets to segregate fruit in new, innovative ways to maximize the return to the grower. He served in several industry associations throughout the years including president of Yakima Valley Growers-Shippers.

Gary's selfless management style meant always being the first to offer praise, and the last to accept it. Gary was influential to the fruit industry and well respected in the Yakima Valley, creating lifelong friendships with his customers, growers, and his team at Holtzinger. One coworker recently shared with us, "Gary developed people with a contagious drive to succeed. Wins were always credited to the team. Even with his success in the industry, Gary was always humble and modest."

In the early 1980s, Gary and Chris, along with a few friends and business partners, started and managed one of the first successful wineries in the Yakima Valley, Quail (Covey) Run Vintners. The winery would become the gathering point for many family and industry events over the years.

Through it all, Gary and Chris would be by each other's sides almost every day of their fifty-four-year marriage. From watching Jeopardy virtually every night to traveling to Asia for business, they were rarely apart. For many summers, Gary, Chris, and their children enjoyed vacationing in Sunriver (only after cherry season, of course), as well as many trips to Lincoln City on the Oregon coast.

Six years at Wazzu solidified Gary's passion for WSU athletics. He was a life-long, die-hard Coug. He was an athletic department booster for many years and a season ticket holder for as long as he was able to attend games. He and his family would spend many fall weekends making day trips to Pullman for football games. Later, Gary and Chris would proudly visit Jana and Brock, as they too became Cougs. Go Cougs!

Gary had a passion for Mopar muscle cars. A passion both instilled in and shared with his son. They spent the better part of a decade restoring the 1968 Dodge Charger that Gary bought while in college. This family heirloom is still owned by the family today.

Later in life, Gary could regularly be found on his back patio, being warmed by the sun, watching Apple Tree golfers play the 10th hole, and reading. Reading almost every day of his life, Gary was a lifelong student of many topics. Gary would always challenge you to learn something every time you were around him, whether it was science, history, whisky, politics, sports, apples, cars, wine, food, architecture, engineering, business ~ anything and everything!

Gary is survived by his wife Christine, daughter Jana Drotzmann and son-in-law Chris, son Brock Remy and daughter-in-law Stacy, grandchildren Connor and Natalie Drotzmann, and Emily, Samuel, and Maurena (Mary) Remy, brother Loren Remy and sister-in-law Sue, sisters Karen Hill and Anita Boler, sister-in-law Ann Remy, and mother-in-law Margaret Lubbers.

Gary is predeceased by his parents Clarence and Cara Remy, brother Delbert Remy, father-in-law Wesley Poff, and granddaughter Madeline Remy. He knew many challenges in his life, but none harder than the loss of his granddaughter in 2019 to Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG). He would wish any donations in his memory be made to the ChadTough Defeat DIPG Foundation (chadtough.org).

Gary faced the pain of his disability with undeniable strength and courage. He never let his disability define him. We are relieved he is finally pain free.

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