– June 4, 2023
Gary Meyer, 78, of Silt, Colorado passed into eternity on June 4, 2023. He died in the care of hospice in a Mountain Valley Developmental Services group home in Battlement Mesa, Colorado. His cousin, Barbara, from Ohio had been to visit him just before he passed away. Gary’s ashes were buried between his parents, Glenna and Art Meyer in Brookville, Ohio where he grew up.
When Gary was a boy, he contracted Scarlet Fever and it “burned up some circuits in his brain”, as he put it. That put him on a different path for the rest of his life. The school was not equipped to train him in that condition, so they sent him home and he never learned to read and write.
His dad, Art, took Gary under his wing and taught him skills so that he could be as independent as possible. Gary learned to work on the farm in Ohio, and Art took Gary along on hunting trips to Colorado, where he bought a second home and acreage in the Divide Creek Valley. On one of their elk hunting trips when Gary was in his 30s, his dad died. Gary took up full time residence in the house his dad purchased and lived there mostly alone until his health deteriorated in his mid 60s when he was moved into a group home setting at various locations in Glenwood Springs and the Roaring Fork Valley until his death this summer.
There are those who made sport of Gary, took advantage of his deficiencies or ignored and excluded him. By every account, Gary did not respond in kind. He turned the other cheek like his dad taught him. He was the better man.
Granted, he could be a bit stubborn at times, but those with patience and willingness to look beyond his disabilities, discovered Gary’s big heart and all the things he could do. Gary had a tool for every conceivable task in that old barn of his and he would poke through it to find whatever might help someone with a job. He could drive a tractor, do odd jobs on a building project, make an apple pie to go with dinner when invited, help set up a hunting camp, and ride horses to help a neighbor pack out an elk. And he was always ready to offer advice on how best to get a job done!
Gary had likes and dislikes, like everybody else. He enjoyed dancing, watching Gunsmoke reruns and eating good food. His favorite dish was the New York Strip at the 19th Street Diner. He had quite a gun collection, enjoyed shooting, and had a surprising knowledge of all things related to guns and ammunition. Gary liked to feel productive, raising hay on his property and doing his own irrigating. Being a caretaker of sorts was something he liked, watching over horses and homes of others. Fellowship was a treat for him and he accepted every invitation to be with people. He was a regular visitor with his friends at the mechanic’s shop, Tim’s Tools, the Boot & Saddle shop, and the Silt Café back in the day. But, he never did take a liking to those round-about intersections which confused him to no end. And, as well as he was treated at Mountain Valley, he would have liked to go back home and live at his ranch.
Many people in the community cared about Gary. The game warden made sure Gary had deer meat for his freezer. His horses were fed when he was away. Another hemmed and mended his clothes. He was the guest of honor in a home for his birthday for many years. Bubbles Starbuck asked him to carry her husband’s casket at his funeral, a privilege for anyone, but especially so for Gary.
Obviously, Gary had great respect for his father and the lessons he learned from him were taken to heart and strictly followed. One time Gary was helping pack out a hunting camp up at Clear Fork by horseback. He got separated from the rest of the group and could not quite remember which road to take on the way down. When he did not show up long after dark, a search was made, and he was found at an outfitters camp with a fire going and his horses unpacked. Relieved but a bit annoyed, the ones who found him asked what he was doing. He replied, “My dad always told me, if I ever got lost, to find shelter, build a fire and spend the night. Stay put and someone will find me.”. Though his father was long gone, his words remained. Gary knew his dad loved him and wanted to protect him, and because he trusted his dad, he obeyed his words time and time again. Art Meyer did not know the date of his own death, but in loving kindness, he wisely used their time together to prepare young Gary for a time when he might have to fend for himself.
Likely Art would have been proud of his son, Gary, not only for taking care of himself, but also for offering a hand to others when he could. Gary’s life mattered and he was loved. He made a difference, and, in his unique way, he added a splash of color on life’s painting that no one else could produce.
Farewell, Gary Meyer, trustworthy kindhearted faithful friend.