Gary Lee Opitz
Gary Lee Opitz
Monday, January 2, 2017 at the age of 72.
Beloved husband of Sharron (nee Smith); loving father of Marcy (Bill) Morris and Gary; dearest step-grandfather of Sarah and Megan Morris; dear brother of Michael (Don White) and Carmen (Steve) Schaeffer; dear brother-in-law of Skip (Cathy) Smith; dear uncle, great-uncle, cousin, and friend to many. Preceded in death by his parents, Michael and Doris (Ackerman) Opitz.
SERVICES: Celebration of Life Open House on Sunday, January 29th from 12-4 pm at Sky Music Lounge, 930 Kehrs Mill Road, Ballwin, MO 63011.
TO ALL OF GARY’S OLD CAR AND MOTORCYCLE BUDDIES, PLEASE DRIVE YOUR HOT ROD/CLASSIC CAR OR RIDE YOUR MOTORCYCLE TO THE CELEBRATION. HE’D LOVE THAT.
Memorial contributions to the Lung Cancer Foundation of America or the American Diabetes Association appreciated. Please visit www.stlouiscremation.com.
It’s hard to believe my brother has left us, but he is safe and well in all our hearts and minds. It’s been a difficult year, but he was in the very BEST of hands – his devoted and loving family, Sharron, Marcy, and Gary. We will all miss his humor, his friendship, and love.
So sorry for your loss, Gary was a true friend and a great Hotrodder. Always had great ( Funny ) conversations about life in general and I always admired his love of his family, cars and his Greyhound puppies. He will be missed by many. Many prayers for the family.
We will always miss Gary. He was my hero, my mentor, my wonderful big brother. I cherish all the memories of the times we shared … His knowledge, his great sense of humor, and his presence making any occasion more fun.
Sharron, Gary, and Marcy … He was as fortunate to have each of you, as I know you feel you were to have him in each of your lives.
Heaven has gained a beautiful soul. We have all gained a wonderful guardian angel.
I’ve had the good fortune of being one of Gary’s friends and had a lot of great times with him that I will never forget. I am very proud to call him a friend. RIP Custom
Sharron, Marcy and Gary – we are holding you close to our hearts. There is no preparing for a loss such as this. Rather, we must live through the loss and take comfort in the delight Gary was in your lives! We will always miss him!! Sending our love.
Lovely tribute to Gary. Honored to have called Gary my friend, you will be greatly missed. Love you Stash
Uncle Gary you will be missed by many. Thanks for everything, specially all the great and funny stories you would tell. We all enjoyed them. Sending much love and prayers to Aunt Sharron, Marcy, and Gary.
I met Gary when I was 12 and he took me for a ride in his black “50 Ford convertible. I thought what a cool guy…a real hotrodder!! As much as he was a hotrodder, after knowing Gary for almost 50 years, I got to know him as a wonderful husband, father and friend. A friend with a great sense of humor. He will be greatly missed, but, never forgotten.
Rest in peace dear friend,
Love,
John and Freddie
He was the most knowledgeable person I’ve ever known and always made the people around him laugh or feel in awe with the stories he would tell. He will truly be missed, but most certainly not forgotten! I’m looking forward to the celebration of his life with all of his friends and the rest of the family on January 29th and seeing all the classic cars, hot rods, and sharing the memories we have of him.
I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen anybody as strong as Aunt Sharon, Marcy and Gary in the last few months. We are all here for you and love you.
Sharron, Marcy, and Gary, I am so sorry for your loss, I am glad that I saw Gary this past year, I missed him after he retired, working with him since he started at Color Art, my last five years there were not the same, I had no one there that could intelligently talk “Hot Rods”. Or make me laugh the way Gary could. I will miss him, he was one of those friends you didn’t have to see all the time to think about him. I always valued his friendship and pray I’ll see him again.
What a great friend. Going to miss him a lot. Made me laugh a lot and I will always remember our trips to Good Guys together. You will always be in my thoughts.
Sharron, Marcy, Gary and Bill,
We are so sorry for your loss. Gary made us smile with every story he told and every animal he loved. We admired his talent for cars, motorcycles and bicycles. Most of all we miss seeing Gary pull up our driveway to share his sense of humor and his smile.
RIP Cuz