Gary A Willis of Selah passed away peacefully June 28, 2019 at Cottage of the Meadow after a short battle with leukemia. He was born February 17, 1943 to Arthur and Lois Willis in Norman, Oklahoma. He grew up in Wapato and in 1955 moved to the family ranch on Konowac pass.
Gary’s love of cars started early. At the age of 6, he loved playing with his cars and progressed to building and painting models. He drove his mother crazy identifying all the cars he saw while driving back and forth to Marquette High School where he graduated in 1961. His love of cars grew while working at Wofford Wrecking Yard weekends during high school.
At age 19, while working at a lumber mill, Gary lost 2 fingers in an industrial accident. He was affectionately given the nickname “3 fingers” or just “fingers” by his friends. After his accident, he attended Perry Tech for their machinist program. He went on to have a very fulfilling career making airplane parts at Decoto Brothers and nuclear parts at Hanford Nuclear Facility, retiring in 2003.
In 1969 Gary met and married Sally Jendrycka and moved to Selah, WA. They were together until 1987. During this time, Sally gave birth to 2 sons, Scott in 1972 and Brady in 1974. Their weekends were spent camping and riding dirt bikes. Little did he know his influence started a lifetime passion for motorcycles, 4 wheeling and racing in his sons.
In 2003, Gary met Anna Stewart when he asked her to dance at the Eagles. This became their Saturday night date for 16 years as well as traveling in their motor home and making lasting memories together. He embraced her 6 adult children, Ken, Tyler, Danielle, Kathleen, Adam and Christiana, and was equally loved by them and their families.
Gary was passionate about many things in life. He was always a sucker for a good campfire, camping and dirt bike trips. After the boys were grown, Gary went back to his first love of hot rods and drag racing. He said, “with age comes the cage.” He built his last race car while in his late 60’s, starting from just a bare shell of a car. Through racing, Gary had a large group of friends which were his second family and meant more to him than they will ever know.
Gary’s humble generosity and willingness to always offer up a Pepsi and orange creamscicle ice cream will always be remembered. We love you Dad, Grandpa, Husband and Friend. You will be missed terribly. Win a round for us at the great race track in the sky.
Gary is survived by his sister, Gail and her 3 children, the love of his life, Anna Stewart, his eldest son, Scott Willis, his wife Christine and their 2 children, youngest son Brady Willis, his wife Kristy and their 3 children, step-son Ken Stewart, his wife Baida and their 4 children, step-son Tyler, his wife Emily and their 3 children, step-daughter Danielle, her husband Bill and their 3 children, step-daughter Kathleen, her husband Joel and their 5 children, step-son Adam, step-daughter Christiana and his beloved dogs, Kali and Sugarbug.
Visitation will be held at Keith & Keith Funeral Home on Friday, July 5, 2019 from 4:00 until 8:00 p.m. A funeral service will be held at Keith & Keith Funeral Home on Saturday, July 6, 2019 at 11:00. To share a memory of Gary visit www.keithandkeith.com.
In lieu of flowers, we ask that you please make a donation to Cottage in the Meadow in Gary’s name. We will be having a celebration of life at Gary’s house Saturday, July 6 at 4:00, we welcome you to join us in bringing a side dish and a lawn chair.
