Garrett Parke, Jr. Obituary

Garrett Walter Parke Jr. passed away suddenly on Thursday, May 16, 2024 at the age of 66. He was a wonderful husband, father, son, grandfather and will be greatly missed. Garrett is preceded in death by his parents, Garrett Sr. and Kathleen Parke. He is survived by his loving wife, Sally Parke, his son, Garrett (Gladys) Parke, III, grandchildren, Gage, Gavin, Damian, Leslie and Natalie, siblings, Donna Parke, Stephen (Laurie) Parke, Maureen (Marc) Bilodeau, and many nieces and nephews. 

Gary was born in Princeton, NJ on October 2, 1957 and grew up in Rocky Hill, NJ until the family moved to Auburn, ME when he was 13 years old. Gary earned his Eagle Scout Badge from the Pine Tree Council Troop 111 of Auburn, ME on June 18, 1973 and is listed in the National Eagle Scout Registry. He departed Auburn in 1975 when he enlisted in the United States Army. During his military service Gary received the Army Commendation Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Parachute Badge, and several Certificates of Achievement, as well as many letters of recommendation. He proudly served in the 548th Engineering Battalion, 82nd Airborne Division, and 75th Ranger Regiment. After leaving the military Gary started a family in Huber Heights, OH where his son Garrett (III) was born in 1982. He managed a tool and die machine shop and was hired by Gelman Sciences Medical Device Division in Ann Arbor, MI as an Engineering Supervisor in November 1982 to resolve an ongoing recall of i.v. filters due to injection molding issues. Gary and Sally met when they were appointed to Gelman’s charitable giving committee in January 1984, after which they became inseparable. They purchased a home in Brighton, MI where Gary joined Brighton Township’s volunteer fire department and began his other service career. Gary left Gelman Sciences in 1984 and was hired as a manufacturing engineer at AC Spark Plug in Flint, MI. They moved to Swartz Creek, MI in 1986 and Gary joined the Mundy Township Fire Department and became a Lieutenant EMT and Fire Marshall. Gary and Sally were married January 24, 1989 in Grand Blanc, MI. Gary had a great love for ice hockey, which his son Garrett shared; Gary was the Assistant Coach for the Swartz Creek Hockey team from 1996-2000 while Garrett was on the team. In 2003 AC Spark Plug, now Delphi Energy Management Systems, transferred Gary to their Juarez, Mexico site and the family moved to El Paso in spring 2004. In near the end of 2008 he left Delphi and earned his commercial drivers license with extra endorsements, working for various OTR trucking companies. In 2010 he became a Deputy Fire Marshall for El Paso County, but he returned to trucking in 2013 and began hauling crude oil in the Permian Basin for several companies until purchasing a new 2019 Freightliner Semi-Truck in December 2018, and contracting to haul oil. Gary left the oil fields in 2020 and contracted with UPS Freight/T-Force Transportation as an owner/operator until present day.

Gary will be remembered as a meticulous, intelligent, generous man who pursued academic excellence with an extreme passion for his family, country, German Shepherd Dogs, and work ethic. He will be missed more than words can ever express but he will live in our hearts forever.

Services are entrusted to Sunset Funeral Homes-West, 480 N. Resler Dr.