Gary joined the US Army in 1970 where he spent 22 years serving his country and was a veteran of Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Upon his retirement from military service he attended Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, GA where he received both a bachelors and masters degree in early childhood education. He began his second career as an educator, teaching in Chatham County, Toombs County and Tatnall County, GA. He retired from teaching and began his third career as a school bus driver for Vidalia City School Systems until he fully retired to Jacksonville, FL in 2016.

He was a member of Beach Church in Jax Beach, FL where he was part of several small mens groups. He enjoyed tinkering on house projects and spoiling his grandchildren. He wrote and published two books, Patriot Son and Hero Road, both of which showed his great love for his country and the military with the words that he wrote.

He is survived by his wife, Marie Smith; daughters: Allison (Oliver) Hobaugh and Sarah (Chris) Snider; son Justin (Carolina) Smith; grandchildren: Hannah Snider, Cassandra and Samuel Hobaugh and Natalie Smith. Sisters: Cheryl (Martin) Harris, Bette (Garry) Choate, Gayle (Larry) Fricke and Lorrene Collins.

He was preceeded in death by his parents, Chalmer and Voda Smith; inlaws Red and Evelyn Davis; brother Dennis Smith; brother in law Duane Davis; nephew Jason Rice; numerous aunts and uncles and five angel grandchildren that he now gets to meet and spoil.

A Memorial Service was held on August 25, 2018, at Cypress Village Clubhouse in Jacksonville FL. He will be interred at Arlington National Cemetary at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in his honor to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society at www. LLS. org