| Graduation Year | Class of 1962 |
| Date of Passing | Nov 25, 2014 |
| About | Gary L. Sundberg, my life-long friend and the nearest thing to a brother that I ever had, passed away last Tuesday, due to complications from renal failure and at fib. Gary had been suffering since 1995 from a failure of his bone marrow to produce blood cells, an anemia which had slowly progressed over the years to require regular whole blood transfusions (up to 4 pints). Gary was fortunate to have a registered nurse for a wife who undoubtedly prolonged his life through her constant support and care. They met at work at the VA Hospital in Phoenix. Gary passed away in their home in Peoria, AZ, a suburb of Phoenix. Fortunately, we were in constant touch through phone and email, and something over a week ago, Gary told me that he was "hangin' in there", but it was clear that his condition was worsening. He died at 4:25 AM, and Mary tells me that she saw him finally at peace after a difficult struggle with aplastic anemia and its consequences. Dave Warren and I flew to Phoenix to see him for a few days last fall. It was a great visit and we got a chance to visit a lot. It was my third visit to see Gary and Mary in AZ and each time I was struck by his Pontiac car collection and associated memorabilia which decorated their house and garage. I think that they had seven (7) Pontiacs at one time, which I believe was down to five on my last visit. He has an exact copy of his father's 1959 version when we were in high school, a TransAM and a 58 Bonneville, if memory serves. Gary was extremely active in the local car clubs making weekly trips to contribute to all of the amazing classics on display. He was a player and served on the Board of Directors of the National Pontiac Car Club. He and Mary regularly attended the yearly conventions. While in high school, Gary and I did many things together, often with Gary Faust, Ray Hinkeldey and Don Meyer (others were also part of the group). Most of time, we were bored and up to no good. We would travel to Storm Lake and Cherokee and even sometimes to Fort Dodge or Sioux City or Spencer. Gary had several cars during this era, including a 1949 Pontiac with the biggest back seat that you could imagine, comparable to Ray Hinkeldey's Buick. Like most Iowa boys, we did some hunting, but Sundberg and I were not avid hunters. We liked target shooting and once used his old black Chevy as target practice to make it look like Eliot Ness had driven it. While it looked good, it leaked brake fluid, and once we added motor oil to the brake fluid reservoir. As we were driving down Main Street in Alta past a car-lined Presbyterian Church section, we approached a car but found out that we had no brakes. We missed the car, but it was close. We purged all the brake lines and fixed everything after that traumatic experience. Gary and I took two bigger trips, the first to the Black Hills in 1964 where we saw Mt. Rushmore, the Passion Play, the Corn Palace and Deadwood among many other sites. We saw Wild Bill Hickok's gambling table and the graves of many of the West's characters. It was 1966 when we took the second trip to Colorado and Pike's Peak. Gary had a VW Carmen Ghia convertible and we had power issues getting up the mountain and brake issues coming down. Not only wouldn't Gary drive, but he wouldn't even open his eyes because of the steep drop-off on the narrow gravel road. We made it, but we had oxygen on the mountain top and whiskey after we were down. We had great adventures. One added point about our first SD trip. I had traded my 57 Olds to Ed Millard for cash and a 49 Cadillac which we had to drive from Alta to Cherokee to the junkyard. It used so much oil that we had to make many stops at farms along the way to fill the crankcase with old oil. The motor finally froze up at the top of the Cherokee hill, but we were able to coast down to the junkyard and park the car. The owner gave me $35 and commented on how quietly the car ran. We left and I believe Gary has been laughing about that ever since. The night before my graduation from Iowa State University, my mother charged Gary with making sure that I got to the ceremony on time. We left Des Moines without my robe. We went back, but missed the graduation. My mother forgave Gary that day. It was many years later when she and my dad went to one of my chemistry lectures at Purdue with 450 students, that she said that this was much better than my graduation would have been. I told Gary this on my last visit and he laughed in agreement. Gary was very organized and he has been sending me and others memorabilia from our experiences. He sent me letters to him from my mother and a bottle of gin that they gave him on his deployment to Vietnam. Gary was a great American, a veteran, a medic and a VA nurse. He sent me a copy of “Full Metal Jacket” saying that this film was accurate and his experience. He was a hero to me and it has been an honor to have been close to him for so many years. Mary told me yesterday that he was finally at peace. I know that she would like to hear from any of you. She loved our reunions. I have so many memories of Gary that it is very difficult to stop writing, but I will for now. Love you, Sundberg. A note from Tom Wall: John, Gary was in Viet Nam several years before any of the rest of us who spent time there. He said he was one of the first 1,500 troops to be in the country. He was part of a team that provided medical services to the local people; often in remote areas. As such Gary served in essentially a humanitarian role and probably did more good for that country than any of the rest of us who spent time in the military. |
