Gary Givens
Gary Givens
Gary Givens
Gary Givens
Gary Givens
Gary Givens

Obituary of Gary Givens

The Givens family and friends are mourning the loss of Gary Givens. Gary passed away early Sunday afternoon, December 14, 2008 in his home in Durham, after a long and courageous struggle with ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis aka "Lou Gehrig's Disease"). Gary fought the disease, as he lived his life, with dignity and courage. Gary was born on December 13, 1952 in Santa Monica, California and grew up at Malibu beach and southern California. Following his education at Los Angeles Airport College and obtaining his FAA licenses, Gary worked as an aircraft mechanic for Flying Tiger Line at LAX up until 1988. Then he and his wife Terry and son Brian left the city life and moved to Durham to farm a walnut orchard. In addition to his love of farming, Gary loved aviation and working on airplanes. Gary loved working at his job at Aero Union and the endless opportunities Aero Union gave him to show his tremendous mechanical skills and his endless pursuit for excellence. Gary's happiest days at Aero Union were traveling with the air tankers to the different tanker bases during fire season. Prior to his unexpected early retirement due to ALS, Gary was given the opportunity by Aero Union and NASA to fly with the NASA airplane to Fairbanks, Alaska and Greenland. During his long and enduring ALS illness, Gary was given his life long dream to attend the Las Vegas Barrett-Jackson collector car auction. They treated him like a celebrity and gave him the opportunity of a lifetime to ride in a 1967 red convertible Mustang on the auction block which ran live on the SPEED Channel. Gary is survived by his wife, Terry; and sons, Brian and Sean of Durham; his sisters, Linda of Chico, Paulette and her husband Dick of San Juan Capistrano, Pam of Rancho Cucamonga, Deborah and her husband Jerry of Auburn; his brothers, Greg and his wife Pam of Cayman Brac, Cayman Islands, Randy of Lancaster, Don of Los Angeles, Mickey and his wife Linda of Topanga Canyon; his father, Merlin and step-mother Pauline of Winnetka; his numerous nieces, nephews, and friends. He was preceded by his death by his mother, Virginia and his step-father Don. There will be celebration of Gary's life on Sunday, January 25, 2008 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at the Chico Elk's Club, Manzanita Place. In lieu of flowers, Gary's wish is to create a college fund to help his sons complete their college education in his absence. Donations can be sent on their behalf to Terry Givens, P. O. Box 880, Durham, CA 95938.¬ We all miss him terribly but Gary is finally free to fly!
Share Your Memory of
Gary