Gary Wayne Clyma

Gary Wayne Clyma, 61, passed away on January 1st, 2023. Gary was born December 20th, 1961, in Stillwater, Oklahoma to Wayne and Marjorie (Sappington) Clyma. He had two younger brothers. He graduated from Rocky Mountain High School (Fort Collins, CO) in 1980. While at Rocky, he enjoyed participating in several choirs and had parts in several plays in the drama department. He graduated from Hannibal-LaGrange Baptist College (now Hannibal-LaGrange University) in 1987 with a degree in Religious Education, Church Music, & Bible. While at Hannibal-LaGrange he became interested in Clowning Ministry.

He served as staff and a group leader at Lifeway Centrifuge Camps during the summer of 1989 and 1990. He attended Midwestern Baptist theological Seminary and graduated with a master’s degree in Religious Education in 1991. He served as both a youth pastor and music and youth pastor at several churches in Missouri before returning to Fort Collins. He served as the Associate Director at Christian Challenge-Colorado State University from April 1994 to August 2016. He was ordained as a Minister at Immanuel Baptist Church in 1994. He also served as Youth Pastor at Southside Baptist Church from June 1998 to September 2000. He served as Director for Christian Challenge-Front Range Community College from August 2009 to August 2016.

He loved Clowning Ministry and continued it from college thru many years at Christian Challenge until he developed allergies to face makeup. He enjoyed doing balloon animals and sculptures for many years. He was also great at mimicking different accents and cartoon voices. His favorite character was Disney’s Goofy. He frequently wore some sort of Goofy apparel or pin. He loved talking to people by sharing stories, jokes, and an encouraging word from the Bible. After retiring from Christian Challenge, he started taking classes at Light University in Christian Family Counseling. However, his rising health problems required him to stop.

Gary is survived by his brother Howard Clyma & wife Christy (Stephenville, TX) and his aunt Verona wife of Jack Clyma (Mounds, OK) and many cousins. Gary was preceded in death by his parents Wayne and Marjorie Clyma, his brother David Clyma, his grandparents E.E. Sappington and wife Bessie, and Joe Clyma and wife Rose, and 10 uncles and 9 aunts.

In lieu of flowers, please send donations to American Diabetes Association by going to www.diabetes.org/ways-to-give or to the Christian Challenge at CSU by going to www.Challengefoco.com/give