Obituary of Garry Wayne Martens

MARTENS – Garry Wayne passed away suddenly on Wednesday, April 2, 2014 at the age of 65. He is survived by his loving wife Gladys of 40 years; and siblings Larry (Cherise), Shelley (Terry) Seibel, Gina (Bruce) Hinrichsen, 1 niece Cassandra Malone (Braydon and Kaydence), 3 nephews Matthew Malone, Ayrton Huffman and Berkley Huffman. He was predeceased by his mother Maria in 1970 and his father Cornie in 2006, as well as a sister Brenda in infancy. Although Garry may not have been born with a wrench in his hand, he was seldom seen without one from a very early age. His passion for fixing anything with 4 tires and a motor never left him – from his first job at Laroque Motors until his passing while still employed at Bridge Creek Trucking, a subsidiary of Gibson Energy. Garry took his Grade 1 in Wymark and struggled because of his lack of the English language. He continued his schooling at Elmwood School and later attended W.A. Beattie Collegiate. After school, evenings were always spent tinkering in the garage outback trying to soup up the latest acquisition or helping someone else. If you fully comprehend Garry’s love for mechanics, you will understand he never worked a day in his life. He was generous to a fault and did not know the word “no”, so whenever anyone brought their vehicle to his shop to get fixed his reply would be “Sure, I can fix it but I hope you’re not in a rush for it. I have all these motors and vehicles ahead of you but I’ll get it done – just leave it.” He always “got ‘er done!” It might not been on time, or nearly on time, and I’m sure on many occasions it was a long time, but he always came through. Garry was not pretentious, preferring to stay in the background. He never made a lot of noise unless it was on the Dyno Machine tweaking some racer’s engine. He never liked to be in the limelight or the center of any attention, and just 3 weeks ago when we surprised him with a birthday cake and coffee at the shop, he didn’t want to show up. The “love of his life” was building engines for those in the racing circle. Nothing gave him a greater thrill than to see a vehicle that he had given “life” come barreling over the finish line in first place or at very least in the top four. I’m sure that he will be sorely missed at the track this summer and in the years to come. In Garry’s earlier years he coached minor hockey a few winters and for several years he played ball, pitching right handed and then batting left. When asked why he switched up, his comment was that he was closer to first base. He played hockey for a short while but never donned another pair of skates after he broke his leg on his 7th wedding anniversary. His hobby turned to snowmobiling but once again, only performing the wrench duties – not actually driving. When the cold got to him, he gave up the snowmobiles and took up the stock car racing, which he enjoyed to the very end. The shop at 1600 Chaplin St. W. was “Grand Central” for all racers and friends. Many of the guys would admit to many hours spent at that shop, hanging out and watching the boy work. During most of Garry’s career, he was self-employed and even after he started work at Gibsons, he was not willing to give up his own shop. In 2012, after much coercion, he relented and we traveled to Jamaica on vacation. He so thoroughly enjoyed himself and we repeated the trip again in 2013 and most recently this past January. Calls throughout the year from his new found friends in Jamaica attested to the fact the he easily blended with the folks there and his sense of bartering and bantering was enjoyed by all. Donations in memory of Garry may be directed to the Dr. Noble Irwin Regional Healthcare Foundation, 2051 Saskatchewan Drive, Swift Current, SK S9H 0X6. A funeral service was held on Tuesday, April 8, 2014 at 2:00 p.m. from The Church Of The Open Bible with Pastor Rob Cochrane officiating. The interment took place at Hillcrest Cemetery, Swift Current, SK. For further information or to sign the family book of condolence, visit www.parksidefuneralhome.com. Arrangements were in care of Parkside Memorial Funeral Home.