In Memoriam: Gary Gosdin

I met Gary via an ad response 35 years ago. We began what became a client/dealer counselor relationship and then friendship. Gary was my longest decoy friend.

Gary struggled with life in his last 25 years. He had a horrible accident driving on a paved highway near Amarillo, Texas where a construction crew failed to put up signage on one of the lanes of a two-lane rural road that Gary was traveling on early one very foggy morning. Due to the lack of light, and the absence of a stop sign, Gary drove his pickup through a T intersection where he dropped off a 9’ embankment. As a result of the crash, both of Gary’s femurs were broken, he sustained fractures of his lower right leg, left arm, and right kneecap. Despite his injuries, Gary managed to find his cell phone to call for help.

Gary had to abandon his medical profession, and through years of rehab, Gary was able to regain some mobility, but he was largely confined to his wheelchair. He loved and participated in all the family activities he could handle. He had 2 daughters (Lyndsay and Hayley), 2 sons (Mark and the older Geoffrey) and a passel of grandkids (6 girls and 2 boys).

Geoffrey had some issues, Gary and D’Awn gave him extra attention. When Geoffrey died 5 years ago, it hit the family especially hard. The family recovered, but you could see it took its toll.

Gary put his life back together and DECOYS became his focus and diversion! While Gary could no longer travel to Chicago or Easton for the major shows, he swallowed every catalog, decided which decoys he liked best, and then decided what he would buy or give up in trade or auction consignment. The process grew harder each year as he cut to the quick and had to sacrifice the best to play the game, but he was “in” to the end.

I loved Gary and D’Awn and feel that my life, like his, will end someday sooner than I wish. Goodbye dear friend, see you on the other side.