Hi Reed Family,

I had the opportunity to work with Gary over the years starting in 2000.  Gary was an amazing engineer.   Not only were his designs creative and well thought out but he was always willing to help.   I will always consider him one of my engineering mentors and be a better engineer for having worked with him.

I got to shadow Gary before his retirement in 2004 and take over a project he was working on.  I was pretty worried to take on such an important project.  But as always Gary had set me up for success and I was able to finish the project.  During this time working with Gary I learned a lot and especially remember how he would make quick simple prototypes to test out parts of his design.   I have used this technique many times over the years, Thanks Gary! 

As other colleagues have stated Gary was very knowable on platings.  Several years ago we were working on a contact and had trouble with the plating and the shape of the contact.  I called and asked Gary if he would help us out.  He stopped in and over lunch he was able to get us straightened out and on track!  This help allowed us to keep on schedule and get the product out the door.  Without Gary’s help we would not have been able to do this.  I am not going to admit how much time we spent trying to figure out what Gary fixed over lunch!

Most recently Gary came in and worked on a large fixture for us.  This fixture was tied to a very important quick moving project.  Gary came in and designed the fixture and helped is keep on track. It was always nice to know Gary was on the project.   Next spring we were hoping to have him come in and help us with some relay and connector work.  His vast knowledge in these areas will be greatly missed. 

I was very sad to here of Gary’s passing we always enjoyed him being in the office.  He was a great guy and we will all miss him. 

Sorry for your loss,

Marc Gessford

Hi Sharon,

I had the pleasure of working with Gary on numerous occasions and he was a super guy, extremely knowledgeable, kind and always very helpful.  He was my go to guy when I needed help selecting material finishes (metal plating) or just developing ideas.  We’d discuss the application, he’d poke around a little and then come up with some references that would guide me in the right direction.

 I’d see him periodically making his morning trip to Starbucks to get his coffee.  We’d stop and chat briefly and have a few laughs.  

Several years ago I jotted something on my whiteboard that now has special and ironic meaning.  He mentioned that he was taking Pravagen for memory and I told I had better write it down so I’d remember.  Again, more laughs.

He will be greatly missed by many for being such a great person, a great Mechanical Engineer and friend.

So sorry for your families loss,

John