Gary Wynn Pedersen, 64, of Newman Lake, WA lost his battle with lung cancer on October 5, 2022. He lived a full and busy life up until the last couple of months. He passed with dignity with his wife of 35 years by his side.
Born in Alaska on July 2, 1958, Gary was the youngest of a military family and lived all over, from Alaska, to Texas, to Phoenix, and even in England for a time. The family settled in Spokane Valley where he graduated from University High School in 1976. After high school he joined the Navy and served on the USS Mauna Kea and the USS Denver and got to see more of the world and meet fascinating people. He fell in love with the sea and had always dreamed of living on a sailboat.
After the Navy, Gary married April in June of 1987 and moved to Newman Lake where he set his sights on designing and building a home for his family. After he graduated from ITT, in 1993 with an applied science degree, he was able to accomplish that goal only a couple years later. During that time, they started a small business where he designed several log homes.
Gary also worked in the trucking industry for over 30 years, for various companies. He even owned and operated his own small business and Semi for a time. The last couple of years he drove for Orepac and this was possibly his favorite place to work. He was known all over the trucking community and as his last boss tearfully said, “he will be greatly missed.”
Gary was a biker at heart and had a lifelong passion for Harley Davidson Motorcycles. He was able to fulfill his dream of owning a Harley and would often take his bike on the road with him when he worked. He toured the country side in his downtime to fulfill his wanderlust.
He was a wonderful husband, a remarkable dad and father-in-law, an inspiring uncle and a loving grandfather. He was always there when we needed him most.
Gary Pedersen is survived by his wife April, his daughters, Aerial Stamm and Paige Halverson and his 13 grandchildren. He is also survived by his sisters Gale Goldman and Laurie Kulczyk, his nephews Pat and Sean, his nieces Becca and Lacey and countless cousins.
Father, uncle, grandfather, baby brother, friend and asshole. He was one-of-a-kind and will be sorely missed by everyone his colorful life touched.
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