Gary Whitford

Gary Dean Whitford of St. Johns, MI died Friday, October 24, 2014 at the age of 70. Born March 13, 1944 to Eugene and Dorothy (Slagell) Whitford, Gary worked as a drafter/designer for General Motors for over thirty years. On October 30, 1965 Gary married Judith Jane Gantz Whitford and she survives him.

Also surviving are his children; Marianne (Larry) Schloegl of DeWitt, Kristi (Mike) Moore of Holt, Timothy Whitford of Seoul, South Korea, and Jeffrey (Aubree) Whitford of Fayetteville, NC; grandchildren, Nathan, Brianne, Molly and Laura Schloegl, Elijah and Joshua Moore, and Westley Whitford; parents, Eugene and Dorothy Whitford; siblings, Leslie Whitford, Barbara Elaine (Eugene) Slagel; and Eldon (Ann) Whitford; brothers-in-law, Lyle (Pat) Gantz and Bill (Wanetta) Gantz; and many nieces and nephews. Gary was preceded in death by his mother-in-law and father-in-law, Delphine and Jay Gantz, and sister-in-law, Marilyn Whitford.

Gary's passion was missions work, and he took missions trips to Russia, Colombia, New York City, and many trips to Hungary where he helped build Rosegarten Baptist Church. He was a missions board member and Elder at Trinity Church. Gary was also on the board of Pregnancy Services of Greater Lansing, where he also volunteered his time re-building and delivering hundreds of cribs for families in need. He served on the St. Johns School Board for several years as well. Gary loved spending time with his grandchildren. He was a man of many interests including, cars and motorcycles and had the ability to fix anything. He was an avid bicyslist and rode the DALMAC tour many times. Gary deeply loved his wife, his family and friends, and most of all he loved the Lord.

Funeral Services will be held at 11:00 AM Wednesday, October 29, 2014 at Trinity Church, 3355 Dunckel Rd, Lansing, MI 48911 with Pastors Marvin Williams and Royce Allen officiating. A private burial will take place at a later time. The family will receive friends from 2- 4 and 6-8 PM Tuesday, October 28, 2014 at the Osgood Funeral Home, 104 E. Cass St., St. Johns, MI 48879. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made in Gary's name to Serving A Nation, 6161 E. Longview, East Lansing, MI 48823. S.A.N. is a Hungarian Missions Organization.

The family is being served by the Osgood Funeral Homes.