Gary Francois Tholen

Gary Francois Tholen was born September 22, 1949 in Houston, Tx to Rudolph Bernard Tholen and Lorraine Rita Ouellette Tholen. He passed away peacefully on September 16, 2026 in Tyler, Tx, A one week shy of his 77th birthday.

A celebration of life will be held at Crossroads Church Canton on Saturday, September 19, 2026. Visitation will begin at 10:00 am and the service will follow at 11:00 am. Pastor John Mark Robinson will be officiating.

Gary grew up in the Dallas area and graduated from Richardson High School. He built a career with Western Electric and Southwestern Bell Telephone where he worked for many years. Gary and Elaine met at Southwestern Bell and worked together long before their romance started.

On April 10, 2003 Gary and Elaine were married. They moved back to Canton of that year to live in the same house that Elaine grew up in.

Known for his quick wit and easy sense of humor, Gary had a way of lightening the mood in even the darkest situations including up until his last days with his family. Gary loved to work with his hands and wasn't afraid to tackle and project from remodeling their home, building furniture, painting murals on the garage or putting together jigsaw puzzles. Many of those puzzles decorate the walls of their home. His favorite thing in the whole world was playing golf. His normal week consisted of at least two days on the course and more if he had the chance. He made some great friendships while hitting that little white ball around.

Gary loved his family and especially enjoyed spending time with his grandchildren. He also had a great devotion to his dogs, Toby and Sadie. One of his biggest concerns was that they be given plenty of treats when he wasn't there with them.

Gary was a long time member of Crossroads Church where he met Christ as his personal savior. He spent many years as janitor there and took great pride in keeping everything just right, even to how well the dumpster was packed.

Gary was preceded in death by his parents, Rudolph and Lorraine Tholen; and brothers, Rudolph and Larry Tholen.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Elaine; daughters: Courtney Palmberg and husband Kenny; Natalie Carlson and husband Cullen; grandchildren: Ethan and Arthur Palmberg; Caleb, Isabelle, and Sophia Carlson; siblings: Fleurette Jackson and husband Otis, Remy Tholen and wife Ann, Yvonne Green and husband Kenny; many nieces and nephews and many friends and other family members.