Gary Lee Garlock

      Gary Garlock, longtime resident of Ovid, MI passed away at the age of 83, on October 2, 2025.
      Funeral Services will be held on Tuesday, October 7, 2025, at Smith Family Funeral Homes-Houghton Chapel, Ovid, MI, at 2:00 P.M. with Mr. Andy Goodrich officiating. Burial will take place at Maple Grove Cemetery, Ovid, MI. Visitation will be held on Monday, October 6, 2025, from 2-4 p.m. & 5-7 p.m. at the funeral home.
      Gary was born on April 3, 1942, the son of Byrl and Altha (Beagle) Garlock of rural DeWitt, MI. He graduated from St Johns High School in 1961, and married his wife Carol in 1964. After serving in the National Guard, Gary worked for 37 years at General Motors.
      Although Gary’s job was as a truck driver, his entire world revolved around adoring his wife, loving his family, and serving the Ovid Community. Gary and Carol were married for over 61 years, and spent the last 9 months together in the same room at Hazel Findlay Nursing Home. Last spring, they were voted Hazel Findlay’s Prom King and Queen, and they were able to be in the Mint Festival Parade together this summer just a week after one of Gary’s hospitalizations. They were, and still are, ridiculously adorable. Gary and Carol spoke many times each day when he was a resident in the Ovid Healthcare Center, and if he spoke to any of his kids his first question was always, “How’s mom?” She was always at the forefront of his mind.
      Gary’s acts of service always showed his children how much he loved them. He spent countless hours fixing houses, checking oil on cars, shuttling kids to music lessons, working to raise money for the high school band uniforms and a trailer, and sitting through hours and hours and hours of band concerts (mostly awake). He was so excited to become a grandparent that he asked Carol if he could always use the same aftershave so he would have a smell that the baby would remember. When the babies didn’t want to be held, he grew a beard like his son just in case that would win them over.
     Gary’s job may have been as a truck driver for General Motors, but his family would say he saw himself as a fireman more than a truck driver. For 20+ years he lived out his dreams as a Volunteer Fireman and EMT for the Ovid-Middlebury Fire Department. After he was officially a member of the department but before his first call Gary was so engrossed in watching The Waltons episode with the house fire that he opened his can of pop upside down on his lap. He had been bitten by the fire bug and was never the same.
      While working full time as well as serving as fireman and EMT, Gary also was Jim’s little league coach and Boy Scout Leader. He and Carol served on O-E Band Boosters for 16 years, and served as officers for the majority of that time. Many freshman boys of that era had to survive “Chainsaw Gary’s” snoring at band camp and lived to tell the tale. After retirement, Gary was heavily involved with the Ovid Lions Club, where he served as Secretary, Treasurer, delivered mints to stores, and coordinated volunteers for the Lions Wagon. If you ever bought cotton candy from the Ovid Lions Wagon, chances are good it was made by Gary when he was covered in it from head to toe.
      Gary is survived by his wife Carol (Robinson); son Jim (Ginny) Garlock of Connecticut; daughter Mandi (Steve) Wolfgram of Wisconsin; and grandchildren: Jessica, Lillianne, Luke and Katrina. He was preceded in death by his parents, brother Wayne, sister Kay Marie, and daughter Deb.
     Memorials can be made to the Ovid-Middlebury Fire Department. Online condolences may be made at www.smithfamilyfuneralhomes.com. The family is being served by Smith Family Funeral Homes – Houghton Chapel, Ovid, Michigan.