Gary S. Wheeler

 

Gary is survived by his daughter, son-in-law, son, three granddaughters,  and two great- grandchildren. He is also survived by his brother, multiple sister-in-laws and many nieces and nephews. He has been reunited in Heaven with his wife of almost 45 years, his brother, sisters, his father and mother as well as many other friends and loved ones.

 

At the age of only 17 years old, Gary began working in the steel yard for LB Foster, where he would begin his lifelong career of almost half a century. Over 47 years through hard work, dedication, loyalty, and love for his work, he became the General Manager of Steel Piling at L.B Foster until he retired in 2017. Even as his memory failed him during his final years, he would still remember and talk about the projects and many people he loved working with through the years. He was incredibly dedicated to his career and worked on many significant projects, one of note being the Panama Canal Expansion Project.

 

Gary met his wife of almost 45 years in 1975. Gary and his colleagues stopped at the Moose Lodge in Cumming, Georgia for a drink after work where he met and fell in love with his wife. They were married two years later in November of 1977 in Cumming, Georgia where they lived until 2008. In 2008 they moved to Lawrenceville to be closer to Gary’s job in Suwanee but then moved to Dawsonville, Georgia in 2019 to be closer to their grandchildren.

 

Although Gary’s career was prestigious, his life was so much more than his work. Gary was truly a remarkable man in every aspect of his life. Gary was a supportive, wise, diligent, steady, thoughtful but witty man who had unwavering patience, loyalty, and love for his family. He was a man who thought carefully about the words, decisions, and actions that he took and never spoke or acted irrationally, emotionally or in haste. He was a lifelong learner and knew something about everything and was incredibly intelligent and economical. In Gary’s free time he loved reading novels by James Patterson, Stuart Woods, Tom Clancy and Clive Cussler as well as the hilarious Lewis Grizzard and like Lewis Grizzard he was a Georgia Bulldog fan through and through and never missed watching a game. He also loved spending time fishing, planting, watching western and sci-fi movies while drinking a cold beer in his recliner, watching, and feeding the birds and squirrels and playing video games on the computer.

 

 

He was a different version of “Gary” to many people throughout his life, but to his children and grandchildren he will always be the one and only “Dad” and “Doodah” which holds more meaning and love to them than words can fully express, and they are so grateful for him and the lessons and love that he gave them. If the majority of men in this world were half the man that Gary Wheeler was, the world would be a better place to be.