Gary Gosnell

Gary was born on July 25, 1953, in Pittsburgh, PA, to the late Earl S. Gosnell, Jr. and Margaret Alice Gosnell, and passed away on June 16, 2025. Gary’s early childhood was spent on a small farm near Clinton, PA, where he developed a deep appreciation for nature.

During his four years in the U.S. Marine Corps, he attained the rank of Sergeant. His time stationed in Okinawa, Japan, sparked a lasting interest in Japanese art. Following his service, he settled in Southeast Florida, where he completed his Associate of Arts degree at Miami Dade College (MDC) and earned both BBA and MBA degrees from Florida International University (FIU).

Gary worked for 40 years at MDC. His first 12 years were in College Admissions and Registration Services, and the remaining 28 years were in Facilities Management, where he ultimately held the position of Assistant Vice Provost for Facilities Planning. He enjoyed his retirement years in Pembroke Pines, Florida.

Gary’s greatest joy was spending time with his wife, Joan—the love of his life—enjoying family, and tending to his garden. He strove to leave the world a little better than he found it, always giving back more than he received.

He was predeceased by his parents. He is survived by his wife, Joan Gosnell; stepchildren Michelle Armand (Bernard), Jennifer Armand (Karen), and Stephanie Armand; grandchildren Natalie, Tiffany, Madison, and Nico; special niece Jessie Hobson (Andy); grandnephew Matthew; nieces Joy and Alie; brothers Earl S. Gosnell III and James Gosnell (Helena); and sister Alice Grimes.

The family will hold a private celebration of his life. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to The Nature Conservancy or Doctors Without Borders.

Additional Words from Jennifer Armand

My step dad Gary was in my life for 46 years. He met my mom when my twin sister and I were

8. My younger sister was 4. We couldn’t have had a nicer man become our step father. I

always referred to Gary as my parent because he did the day to day child rearing.

After my parents were married we moved to a town house in Miami Lakes.Michelle and I were in Junior high and Stephanie in elementary school. In that townhouse we learned to become a family. Gary did normal dad things like cook us dinner and helped with homework. We all could relax around him. Although I don’t know how he remained calm raising three crazy girls who fought constantly.

Along the way we added two additions to the family, our cats Tina and Valerie. Despite mom and Gary’s objections to having cats in the house, they eventually moved in with us. They also moved with us to our new home in Country Club Lakes and remained part of our family for over a dozen years.

Looking back I see how many ways he influenced who I am today.

He introduced us to his parents, and his mother’s cooking. Grandmother Gosnell was a great cook. Gary frequently baked her Christmas cookies during the holidays. He passed down her recipes to us. We will continue to make the Gosnell Christmas cookies.

When I was in elementary school he introduced the family to the NBA. Gary was a Boston

Celtics fan. We spent many nights watching the NBA playoffs. I have many fond memories of

watching the Celtics, the LA Lakers and Chicago Bulls. I grew up watching some of the best players of all time including Larry Bird, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Magic Johnson and later Michael Jordan because of Gary. Gary was also a Star Trek fan. I remember watching the re-runs of the original show as a kid but

I wasn’t a big fan until high school when Gary got the family into watching Star Trek the Next

Generation. That made me a life long Star Trek fan and Sci Fi geek.

I grew up listening to mom’s favorite band the Beatles but in high school Michelle and I started

to listen to one of Gary’s favorite bands, the Doors. He let us listen to his Doors albums. Mom and Gary also passed on their love of James Taylor.

Gary also loved photography. We grew up with his photographs on the wall, Zen Buddhist

coffee table books and other Japanese souvenirs he brought back from his time there in the Marines. I grew up with those images in Junior High school. I ended up taking photography and reading Siddharta in high school. I developed a life long interest in Eastern philosophy. He never forced us to like anything he liked or forced his views, but I ended up absorbing his

influences without realizing it. I even got my Masters in Public Administration like Gary and my twin sister followed in both my parents footsteps going into higher education..He and mom were always there for us in our daily lives or during a crisis. He drove me to the

hospital when I had bleeding ulcers, or threatened an unscrupulous car repair man on my behalf. Those all seem like small things but they add up over a lifetime of support. I always

knew Gary had my back. Knowing both my parents had my back gave me the security and

confidence I needed to seek my education in other cities and move overseas. They supported whatever we wanted to do in life.

He was lovely and supportive of my marriage to Karen. My parents came to my wedding and

visited London.That doesn’t seem like a big deal to most people, but coming of age in the 80s with a lot of fear and homophobia. I heard a lot of horror stories from friends who were kicked out of their homes or unsupported by their families. I never heard my parents say anything hateful growing up. That gave me the security I needed to live my life. I knew everything would be okay because I had their support.

I always enjoyed visiting and staying with them when I came home from my far away adventures in Tallahassee, DC or London. Staying with mom and Gary on visits back to the States was always the best part of coming home.

I was glad to spend the last two-two and a half years of Gary’s life celebrating holidays, and

birthdays in person after so many years away. I wish we had more time together. I will miss

talking about politics, home repair and gardening. He was a lovely man, step father, and grandfather. My dog Piper also enjoyed sitting on his lap and getting belly rubs.