Gary Richard Greer

Gary Richard Greer, age 80, passed away on Jan. 4, 2023, surrounded by his family. He was born on Jan. 17, 1942 in Medical Lake, WA to Vergil and Lucy Greer. He was joined by a sister, Virginia (Ginger) the following year.

At age ten, the family moved to Salem, OR where he graduated from South Salem High School in 1960. He still maintains many friendships from his South Salem days. He served in the U.S. Navy Reserve. After his discharge, he attended Oregon State University.

Gary worked many years in the automotive industry. He managed many tire stores for Firestone, General Tire and Butler Tire. He retired as a co-owner of Mighty Distributing, an automotive parts distributorship.

He learned to love the outdoors as a young boy, and was very active in scouting. He would tell stories about the solo overnight campouts where he would survive on ketchup and egg sandwiches. His mother would always send him with matches dipped in paraffin to make sure he could light a fire regardless of the weather. He enjoyed the scouting search and rescue missions with bloodhound dogs. When he was older, he loved many other outdoor activities - fishing, hunting, camping, boating, water skiing, snow skiing, gold panning - anything outdoors.

He was a fan of dogs and had several during his lifetime. He had Rhodesian Ridgeback dogs before many people were familiar with them. Later he had a lab mix and several Golden Retrievers.

Nothing was more important to him than his family. He married Teri MaGee in 1968. They had two children, Melissa and Jason. He made it a priority to attend their many activities. He coached basketball for several years during the elementary and middle school years. In retirement, he loved to take the grandkids water skiing and water tubing.

Gary is survived by his wife of 54 years, Teri; sister, Virginia (Jay) Mays; daughter, Melissa Baucom; son, Jason (Kristy) Greer; five grandchildren, Crystal Baucom, Corey Baucom, Kelsi (Zach) Baucom, Jessica (Casey) Close, and Alex (Elisabeth) Greer; and four great grandchildren, Nathaniel Baucom, Isaiah Baucom, Cannon Close, and Scarlett Close. He was predeceased by his parents, Vergil and Lucy Greer.

Services will be at Skyline Memorial Gardens and Funeral Home on Jan. 26, 2023 at noon.