Gary Edward Wyman

Gary Edward Wyman was a modest man and observant in his ways. He was trustworthy and traditional in his approach to his life and in his relationships. He liked a good joke and he also loved to play practical jokes on his friends and family members. He adored children and he did not mind to go down to their level to play. He especially liked to hide and jump out and scare them to wits much to their mother's chagrin. He earned the respect of all who knew him. He was also a man who was meticulous, carefully disciplined, and orderly in virtually everything he undertook. Realistic about life, he was always at the ready, prepared to take on responsibility.

Gary was born on September 14, 1941 at Thunder Bay, Hospital in Thunder Bay, Ontario. His parents were John and Catherine known as "Dolly" Wyman. Gary was raised in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He was brought up to be self-confident and dependable. These were traits that would serve him well throughout his life.

Growing up in the Wyman household was a bit different than most homes. There were good times to be had, but just as often there was a fair share of challenges as well. However, Gary was able to work through the usual family problems when they appeared, and he was the one person in the family who seemed able to keep the stress at bay. Gary was raised with two younger brothers, Murray and Robert. Gary was constantly involved in activities with his brothers. Gary and his siblings may have had the typical rivalries while growing up but Gary was always consistently loyal to his family.

As a young child, Gary was never someone who needed to be the center of attention. He wasn’t pushy and never forced his way into games or other activities. Gary developed a variety of interests, though, and the things he enjoyed doing he did well. He was always curious about the world around him and was often eager to explore it. In his spare time he liked to work on cars. Gary was very proud when he was able to rebuild his first car. However, what Gary enjoyed most was spending time with his friends and family.

While his teachers and even his friends generally thought of Gary as being a serious person, he managed to have a pretty good time in high school as he made that critical transition from adolescence to adulthood. He graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1960. He enjoyed some courses more than others, having favorite classes and teachers. His favorite class in high school was mechanics. Gary was a very logical person who enjoyed learning about factual information. Using his exceptional memory, he was able to learn much through observation. Gary always seemed to have a command of the facts and was able to make it seem as though he could easily master any problem that might be presented to him.

After High School Gary pursued police school and graduated from police academy (Ontario Provincial Police). He obviously had to carry a gun as a police officer. And later on he always owned his own gun. He was a gun enthusiast and enjoyed going to gun and knife shows.

Always considered to be a solid friend, Gary was able to see beneath the surface of relationships and became a true friend to those who knew him. He was committed to his friends and valued the trust he placed in them. It was not uncommon for Gary to go beyond the call of duty for others. While growing up, his best friend was Kenny Walters, who went into Ontario Provincial Police with him. Later in life, he became friends with Ron and Deloros From, Gerald and Jan Doerksen, Gary Pericy, and Loren and Sharon From.

Compassionate and devoted to Shirley, Gary held endearing, traditional values about marriage and family life. He took the responsibility of marriage to heart, giving it his total commitment. He was a source of strength to Shirley.Gary loved children and was an excellent father. Gary was blessed from his first marriage to Norma, whom he had met in high school. She was his high school sweetheart, and they married soon after graduation. While married to Norma, they moved to California, where Gary joined his uncle in the scale business. In the course of their marriage, Gary and Norma had three sons, Grant, Shawn, and Scott. They were his apple of his eye and he loved them with all his heart. After his first marriage, he moved back to Thunder Bay, Ontario and was unfortunately unable to spend much time with his younger two sons and missed much of their young adult years. He often wished he could of been there for them more and it was one of his regrets in life. Never the less anyone that knew Gary probably knew of his tattoo on his arm boasting the names of his three children. All of Gary's sons were at Gary's side in his last days of his life. He probably was not able to express himself but to know that they were there must of been a great comfort to him. So far Gary has three grandchildren Jessica, Jennifer and Nicole Wyman. He loved any opportunity he had to be close to them. Gary also had step children, Betty Lou, Reg and Ralph and many step grandchildren, Lee and Crystal, Christopher, Jason, Stephen and Kayla, Jordenn, Brooke, Braden and Emma.As well as step great grandchildren Riley and Ethan, Caden and Tristan.

Gary was extremely proud of his family and often bragged (in a good way) about Grant, Shawn and Scott. Many times too he would comment especially about what great mothers Becki and Michelle were and the joy that all his grandchildren brought him.

Gary must of believed in love at first sight. While Shirley was visiting her family in Thunder Bay back in 1989, she was introduced to Gary. Two weeks later Gary asked her to marry him. And a few days later they were married in Superior, Wisconsin. Shirley packed up her bags and moved to Thunder Bay to live with him. They spent a few years in Thunder Bay and than moved to Kelowna.

Stephen one of Gary's grandson commented to Shirley as he ways staying at their house. After Gary's fourth call to Shirley to check up on her he said at 3 years of age " Grandpa sure loves you Grandma."

Gary greatly enjoyed what he did for a living. He was a hard worker and was an early bird always being the first person to arrive at work and opening up the shop. He was skilled at working effectively in small groups and in one-on-one situations as well as handling solo assignments efficiently. Always able to attend to the task at hand, Gary was excellent at meeting deadlines. He was an efficient worker, one who paid careful attention to detail, allowing sufficient time to complete one task before moving on to the next. He was employed for the Ontario Provincial Police for five years, and then was employed as Branch Manager for Toledo Scales from 1967 to 1992. In his time with Toledo Scales, he worked in California, where he supervised 20 technicians. He switched carreers in his later years and went into the water treatment business, first as an installer and later worked in the shop for Water Canada. Gary worked hard to be a team player, doing what was necessary in order to get the job done. Gary was extremely well organized as anyone who ever saw his shed or work van can attest. He kept the workshop at Water Canada meticulously clean. Some of his suggestions for improving paperwork and organizing parts are still in use today.

Gary liked to give people nicknames: One of the secretary’s, Michelle, was forever known as ‘Doily’ because, according to Gary, she did nothing but sit around and look pretty all day. The bookkeepers, Diane, became ‘Beans’ and Bernie he called ‘Iron Eyes.’ Gerald was dubbed ‘Dicky.’ After a while he forgot what some people’s real names were. Even customers got renamed: one guy who was a litigation lawyer he called ‘Dirty Harry’ and an older gentleman who had gotten soaked when a fitting broke during a service call Gary was doing was thereafter known simply as ‘Wet Ted.’

As was mentioned before Gary was a practical joker sometimes. The bookkeeper Vivian will never forget the time he hid under her desk before she came in the office and then grabbed her leg when she sat down. Also Gerald's and Jan's girls, Dani and Haley, will never forget the time he mixed peanut butter and coffee grounds together and then he chased them around with it telling them it was dog poop.

Gary liked to experience things first-hand as well as learn about them. This trait carried over into his hobbies, where he was very methodical in how he organized his activities and categorized things. Since he enjoyed his private time, Gary always tried to allocate a specific time for working on his hobbies. His favorite pursuits were gun and knife collecting. He liked to take his sons to gun shows and out shooting. He liked to design and craft his own knives and later on sell them in knife shows. He loved to take his sons out an go dirt biking in the desert, as well as camping in Death Valley. Gary was a avid reader and spent time learning about history, criminology, First Nations and a variety of biographies. .

Gary found pleasure in watching a good boxing match. He applauded those who won, and he enjoyed the statistical data and sports facts and could find himself wrapped up in those details. He would watch boxing whenever he got the opportunity. Tops on his list were George Foreman and Roy Jones Jr.

Gary was a great planner who was incredibly well organized. It seemed that he was able to schedule any event or activity with ease. He always seemed to know exactly what needed to be done. When his children were younger, Gary was a scout leader for The Boy Scouts and he took the kids on trips and camping trips to locations such as Big Bear, California.

Gary sought out practical solutions, not individual recognition. He was always grounded and objective, feeling a strong sense of responsibility for taking care of what needed to be done. This selfless attitude earned Gary many accolades for his efforts and achievements. Some of his most prestigious awards included annual awards for most profitable branch office for Toledo Scales and as well many safety awards for accident free years with Toledo Sales.

Gary was not a traveler. If he did go on vacation it was to always visit family. He had fond memories of Baja California, Mexico - where he took his sons camping.

Gary was a dog lover and he loved dogs of all breeds. He always had a dog - and he was especially fond of Coco, Rocky and Little Bit.

Commitment is a key word that can be used to describe the life of Gary Edward Wyman. He was committed to living the life of a good man who was both practical and trustworthy. He was committed to the traditional values that he upheld his entire life. He committed himself to being a hard worker who expected the same effort in return from those around him. Most of all, he was committed to those he knew and loved.