Stephen Gary Samplaski

“Gary” as he was known, was born on June 20, 1956 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and died on April 27, 2021. When Gary was in third grade (1966), the Samplaski family moved to Austin, Texas. Gary always had a love for Wisconsin and looked forward to going north yearly on family vacations.

Gary attended Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene and received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree with an emphasis in Marketing. He put that degree to work at IBM in Austin where he was employed for nearly 20 years. When IBM decided to move its base out of Austin, Gary decided to step away instead of moving to the East Coast. Gary’s employment continued at Ryder Systems – Applied Materials where he stayed until dementia made it impossible to continue to work.

Gary had a love for music. He sang in the church youth choir and played alto saxophone in the Anderson High School Band. He was always a big “competitor” and his love for sports was evident. Gary played on the Hardin-Simmons Golf Team for one year; but he excelled the most in bowling, where he played in leagues for many years. He has several “300 games” and wore his “honor” ring proudly. You can find his name in the Bowling Hall of Fame in St. Louis, Missouri. He especially loved his favorite team, the Green Bay Packers. Although Green Bay is the only professional football team that is owned by the community, Gary still found a way to own stock in the organization.

Gary was a member of Great Hills Baptist Church, and was part of the Singles Ministry.

Gary is preceded in death by his dad, Robert Samplaski. He is survived by his mother, Rachel Samplaski; his brother, Dr. Terry Samplaski (wife, Sharon); nephews – Jeremy Samplaski (wife, Mary Lauren), Jeffrey Samplaski (wife, Hannah); niece – Jamie Samplaski-Hall (husband, Josh); four great nieces, as well as many uncles, aunts, and cousins.

Visitation will be held at Cook-Walden Funeral Home, 6100 North Lamar Blvd., Austin, Texas 78752, on Tuesday, May 4, 2021 from 1:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Funeral Service will be held at Cook-Walden Funeral Home, 6100 North Lamar Blvd., Austin, Texas 78752, on Tuesday, May 4, 2021 at 2:00 p.m. with a committal service immediately following at Cook-Walden/Capital Parks Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Gideon’s International.