Favorite Gary Story

Chuck, your story reminded me another of Gary's generous acts.. At the first Moparty in 2002, one of the guys from Windsor, I think it was Moparphil, had tranny problems on the way over. Gary had never met him in person before but happily loaned him his truck and trailer to get the car back home to Canada. I was floored (not knowing Gary well, I kept that myself) that he would do such a thing, letting someone he barely knows borrow one of his most valuable possesions, and letting it go out of the country to boot. It then struck me of how generous and caring he truly was. I think he was the kind of person we can all aspire to be like... if even a little bit of his good character rubbed off on a few people, we will all be better off for it.

Not really a story either, but...

At Woodward '02:
I was looking at getting a different front seat in my Satellite as it was torn to shreds when I got it.
I asked Gary how he liked the seats in his Challenger. I think he said something like: "Here ya go, see what you think" & opened the door on the Challenger.
I didn't really know him that well at that point (or period unfortunately) but I sure thought it was a nice thing he did for me....letting me just hop into the car like that.

A year ago or so Gary saw one of my posts about my 69 prostreet RR and PM me about it........being the mopar gear head he is and asked if I would e-mail some pic's..... so I send him some pic's that are lets say bigger than most.......the next day he sends me an e-mail saying I tied up his computer for an hour and a half.........I didn't know he only had dial-up.......... later we did laugh about it..

I never met Gary, but one thing that I will always remember is when I finally got my Challenger fixed up and posted some pics here he was the first reply. What he said was that "it is hard to make a flat hood challenger look mean, you my friend have suceeded"

Just the way he phrased his reply made me feel as if I had made a friend. He didn't know me from a hole in ground but he called me friend. Coming from some people it would have just been a word. Coming from him I knew he meant it.

He will be missed. My thoughts are with his family.

Well, I didn't know him like some of you guys did, but here's my little story. I posted a topic several months ago when I was feeling down - I was going through a lot of stress and questioning things. I got several PMs from members, and among the two or three that really stood out was one from Gary, who must have taken a long time to write the long and heartfelt message that was accompanied by a phone number and the suggestion to call him if I needed to talk. I had never met or talked to him before.

Since then we talked several times, and each time I was struck by his demeanor. When I photoshopped and hosted his old sig pic, his gratitude was genuine, and when he took time to send me a message saying he liked my art, I knew he meant it, and when he said that we should meet and have a beer at Nats, I was really looking forward to it.

With certain people, you don't have to have known them for years and years to tell that they are good people. I wanted to know him better, and to be honest, I didn't know him all that well, but I know for sure that Gary was a good man.

A common thread that keeps coming up was Gary's genuine humanity and outgoing personality. In 2002, my wife and I did something that I had dreamed of for years, drive our 69 Roadrunner up to Detroit from Houston, for the Woodward Dream Cruise. It all came about, in no small part, due to Gary's insistance that we come on up, and even offered to let us stay in his home! We would not dream of imposing on anyone, but we were so impressed with his friendliness that we decided instantly that we had to go to meet him and the rest of the Detroit "Crew." We had an outstanding trip and a great time on Woodward and at the Donut Shop. We got to meet Gary, MoparTony, Steff, Bubba, One Bad Superbird,Frank R and Chuck West plus more folks than I can remember right now. It is a wonderful memory made bittersweet by his passing. I came home tonight and read the post with shock and disbelief. I went downstairs and asked Terry if she remembered meeting "Unlawful" and, of course, she did. When I told her what happened, tears sprang from her eyes... and mine too. A mans true wealth is not measured by money... but by his friends and family. To the richest man that I have had the priviledge of knowing, God keep you.

"A mans true wealth is not measured by money... but by his friends and family. To the richest man that I have had the priviledge of knowing, God keep you." I have never read truer words that could describe Gary Davis..... Lee, I have been reading posts all night and this by far is Gary in a nutshell

i dont know if its a favorite story or not...but i miss the nearly daily bantering he and i shared as regards big blocks and smallblocks....some topic would arise,we would post on it,and generally it would result in some good natured private message chats that would sometimes go on for quite a while...i loved sharing ideas with gary,as he was both knowledgable and open minded when it came to all areas about mopars...he always had something nice to share about everybody......i already miss talking to him.sharing ideas,and debating the merits of different combinations........truly gonna miss him....a lot...........he was GREAT PEOPLE

Paul, that is a great memory of mine also. He just gave those guys his new truck and trailer. That's just the type of man he was. Just the other day, he offered to come help me finish my new shop.

its weird that he has past away way to soon. i never got to meet him but i would loved to. I was talking to my friend just the other day about him and his chally. and was askin my friend do u think that he would come to carlise.i really wanted to see the car and meet him since he sounded like a really cool guy.

Moparty 2002.

That is when I met Gary, Paul, and Steff for the first time. It was neat watching the drag races in Gary's basement.

Paul....I also remembered when we were at Gary's house. We were standing by his car and Gary felt sorry for the guy from Canada. He was open to letting him use the truck and trailer to get home. I thought that was great of him to do that.

It was so cool to get an open invited to his house.

When I got the Mopar magazine with his car on it, it was awesome. In memory, I have his car for a screen saver.

Gary is definitely a Saint in my eyes.

Gary was supposed to be helping me pull my rear end out this weekend. I guess I'll never know a kinder gentler human being. I miss him. GD drunk drivers...........

I've been thinking of this for a while...

Gary, his wife Nikki, my wife Doreen and I all went out for dinner one night when they were visiting his dad who lives here in Naples. We went to Flaco's for Mexican.

We talked about all sorts of stuff. Food, margaritas, dogs (his boxers, our yellow lab) and scuba diving. Gary, Nikki and Gary's dad had all done a beginners pool dive to see if they liked it. It seemed like they wanted to persue it. My wife and I both encouraged them, and told them anytime they wanted to go on a dive vacation to let us know. At some point Gary asked "so, why did you you move from NY to Naples" I laughed and said "the weather of course!"
Then I explained some of the other reasons. I'd rather not go into depth about them here, but let's just say I told them "Do it now. If there is something you want to do, or buy, or see , or what ever, DO IT NOW, because you never know what will happen or when."



Nikki- I never told you either of you, but when Gary posted here on Moparts that you guys had lost one of your dogs I cried just a little. then I hugged my dog. You guy's seem to love your dogs as much as we love our dog. Be comfortable knowing that Gary has a good buddy to keep him company, they are together now.

as posted in another thread ...

When i was just 16 and building the first bigblock for my motor, i had posted a question regarding valvesprings, Gary Pm'd me stating he had the set off his new edelbrock heads, and had been asking X amount for them, but offered them to me for about 20% less since i was (and still am) a poor teenager who spends every dime on this passion, needless to say i couldnt pass that up, those valvesprings are still on my motor. Thank you for everything you did Gary, the person you were, the peoples lives you impacted, the way you always seemed to pass on your happy demeanor, and the service you gave to our country, and loved to do. God speed. RIP forever " The Un One "

I hope I don't breach the standard code of "mopars only" by divulging something few of us know. Gary ( and I ) were raised as chevy people
( gasp), and have been converted ( he more than I) into the mopar ranks.

The other thing I learned from our ~ 40 or so emails and PM's was that Gary said he liked Cuda's more than challengers, but he couldn't pass up his car when he got the chance to buy it.
Gary was one of the handful of members I felt comfortable asking in an email or PM things I didn't want to openly post questions about, and as I said in another post he always ended the conversation with " let me know if you need anything else". I unfortunately purged all of the PM's I had from Gary several weeks ago, but the memory of his kindness will be with me forever.

Allen

I have been thinking of what story I wanted to tell, not that I have that many, but looking back my favorite has to be the first time I met him in person, it was at the Big Bear lot on Friday at the 2003 Nats, as I pulled in the lot he walked up to my car and said "is this the car I'm going to beat at Norwalk?", I laughed and said its going to be a fun weekend, knowing he was joking, after parking and shaking hands he asked me if I could give a few bucks for someone they were collecting for I didn't think twice and gave him 10.00 dollars. This guy was always looking out for someone else. I will never forget that and I will never forget my schooling I got at Norwalk c/w reaction times Godspeed Gary I miss ya already

Last year at Milan In between down time of the track cleanups Gary asks me how my car is running. I say, it just fell on its nose. Gary says, pop the hood and lets take a look and starts checking over my carb (or cob as JohnRR says) & throttle linkage to see if I was getting full throttle. After a few minutes of playing he says, start it up. The car started and raced to the moon & I see Gary dancing under the hood doing something. Once the racing was under control I asked what happened. Gary says, I forgot to put on the return springs. We both had a scared look on our face on that one. None the less that is just how Gary is always willing to help and always offering parts to friends in need. All I can say is thank you!!!!!!

Like most of us, I only got to see Gary once a year. In my case it was at the Norwalk Chrysler Classic but I have a few memories that make me smile.
I can still picture him riding around on the little mini bike with that big smile (it really was ear to ear).
The can of baked beans story...
A couple of years ago Prostock had brought a few items for the cookout. One item was a can of baked beans. Gary didn't want to start until he had that damn can of beans. LOL....the single can of bean was nowhere to be found. He was in the back of prostocks truck tossing everything around looking for one can of beans.
If I make half the good impression on people that Gary did I'll rest in peace.

I think it's great you guys are carrying on this topic, it helps gets everyones thoughts and emotions out on the table about Gary...This is a truely great place.

Well, here's my personal "Gary Story"...........

actually a compilation of Gary Anecdotes..........

But, let me first say, that throughout my life I've looked for people of high integrity to associate with since it leads to mutual admiration, learning and a quality of life that enriches ALL that are touched by them. Gary was all that and some.

The first time I saw him, we didn't meet, he brought his newly acquired Challenger to a local beach for a cruise-in. As I checked out his, then green, Challenger I looked up and saw someone from afar watching me. That was in about 1998 when my oldest son was around 2 and the wife and I took my 69 Rr up there on a whim.

Later, when talking to a mutual friend, Russ, he mentioned Gary and the Challenger. He also mentioned Moparts and how much fun Gary had on that website. Curiousity got the best of me and I had to check it out. I've been addicted to the site and his input ever since.

We never formally met, but from the first instant we talked in person I felt welcomed and accepted already.

"More the Merrier".............

On Woodward a couple of years ago, at the Northwoods shopping center, we all gathered one evening, Gary, myself & another Mopart's guy (sorry I can't remember who) were standing around chatting and I noticed a fellow member's car (Sassy Grass Green Duster) and said "Hey there's MurfMan"! Gary instantly said "Call him over here we haven't met him yet". As MurfMan walked up another row of cars I looked at Gary and he smiled. So I yelled out "Hey MurfMan"! And then we both suddenly just started yelling it out like crazed lunatics. I recall MurfMan spinning around to see who could be calling out his Moparts name. We waved him over and the rest of the evening was spent meeting/talking to friends.

Around our house, Gary was known as "Gary the Policeman" since I have 2 young sons, it was great to know such a positive figure of authority. He was an American hero here.

I used to kid Gary about not mentioning me in his article in Mopar Muscle when they featured him and "UNLAWFL" his Challenger. I'd say, "yeah, you mentioned everyone else but the guy that lent you the $5 ring compressor. How good do you think your car would run w/o rings on the pistons??" He would laugh and kid me about putting a "Fart pipe" on my daily driver Escort.

At the Nats, Gary picked up his Goodie bag and we ran into him at someones hospitality tent. He instantly handed over the official Mopar Nat's Squirt Gun to my oldest son w/o hesitation. My son jumped out of his chair and hit the ground running around the tent like a banshee. I thanked Gary and he just smiled w/o a word.

When I was unemployed...........

after 16 years of consistant/same employment I was laid off from a great automotive engineering job I had. My dream job. Gary, w/o provocation, gave me more suppport than anyone in my life at that time (oops, excluding my wife of course). More than my family. He offered to help set me up with a job through his in-laws and hooked me up with several of his friends with more automotive related contacts. I actually had to put him at ease and assure him that my financial situation was just fine and with unemployment benefits we didn't even have to touch our saving for at least 6 months or longer. He was deeply concerned since I was a family man. I got a job within 3 months and all has been well since. He had a heart bigger than a Hemi.

A dragrace event at Milan.........

Russ called me outta the blue last summer. He said, "Hey, we've got a spare ticket to a IHRA event at Milan if you're interested in going down there with Gary and I?". I needed to mow the lawn and didn't want to leave my family behind for a whole day but my wife said "Go for it" and I got up early that weekend morning and spent the day with Gary, Russ & John watching some dragracing and walking the pits. More or less uneventful but I'm sure glad I went now.

The last time we talked.........

Gary called me about a parts deal that he was upset with. While I won't get into it, I tried to go to bat for the other party such that a friendship would not dissolve. Gary & I talked for quite a while. Gary later complimented me as "Being someone he can always count on to look at things from both sides rather than just siding with him". I sincerely thanked him and felt we had a great rappoire.

My only regret.........

for the last 2 years I have pulled back from the Moparts BBq's and gatherings due to my car not being back together and my 2nd son made things too cumbersome to travel and cruise/race.

I was thinking........."there'd be time" to hang out with the Moparts guys (Gary) more when my boys are older.

And as many know........

The last UNLAWFL Moparty was held at my place. I'm so glad we did that now.

Dean

Your a fortunate man Dean, I keep reading all the post about Gary with a sadness I haven't felt in a long while, a deep sadness that one can only feel when truly at a loss. I only had the pleasure of meeting Gary one time, in 2001 at big bear while attending the Nat's that year.

I didn't tell anyone but at the time I was going though a divorce, and for me it was embarrassing, my Father died before I had chance to know him as man, I was only 15 at the time and often wondered if he would have been proud of man I grew to be, going though a divorce somehow made me feel I failed not only him but my own family.

I took Josh (my stepson) with me that year, he had lived with me for 10 years and been taught that you don't touch someones car, not in a parking lot at the mall and defiantly not at a car show, of coarse Gray took up with Josh right away and started answering all his questions about his car.

I had never meant most of the Moparts members that were there before that night so I was making the rounds putting faces with names I knew from the board, I just happen to look over at Gary's challenger and there sat Josh INSIDE the car, something he knew better than to do.

I when over and started to get on to him about it Gary immediately told me it was okay, that he offered to let Josh set in his car and everything was fine.

Well Josh didn't get out until it was time for everyone to leave, he must have been doing some serious drag racing in Gary's car while we all talked, when it was time to leave the only car that wouldn't start was Gary's, Josh had flooded it bad.

Gary never said anything, I didn't find out until after I was home and someone else said something about it on the board, who do think was the next person to reply...Gary, making sure Josh didn't get in any trouble.

That's just how the man was.

Not a great story, just the truth

I hope no one gets mad, But I have to share another if thats ok? If not? Please PM me and I will understand.

Prior to last years Nats., Gary and I had been discussing possibly getting some hotel rooms, his Challenger and a multitude of other things.
Gary had stated how well his car was running and I jokingly told him I had sold my Pink ProStreet 70 Duster awhile back and I was needing a "banzai blast"!
Gary laughed and said that he would be glad to take me for a spin on Brice Road.
I accepted his generous offer. (I like to think I am not a total fool! LoL!)
In all honesty, things were pretty busy and I had forgotten about Gary's offer. Not Gary! Later in the evening, Gary said "are you ready"? I said for what? Gary said "for a ride on Brice" I said he!! yes, if you are!
Gary looked at me with that world class grin and asked if my life insurance was paid up? I said sure, I can handle it lets do it!
We climb into the Challenger and Gary does not even start the car up until he made sure the belts were ok around my Pepsi Bod.

We pulled out onto Brice and Gary made a right at the Sunoco gas station. A few blocks further and we spied a ton of lets say, modern rode rockets all parked on the right. Gary smiled and said, "should we show them a little Mopar Power"? Guess my answer Lol! Gary nailed it thru 2nd gear and then got out of it!
About that quick, I saw a local Police Cruiser sitting in a parking lot on the opposite side of the Cruisers. I said Gary, there is an officer on your left. Gary slowed and just looked over. I couldn't resist just to see Gary's reaction and perception, so I asked Gary, What would you do if he pulled us over? Gary looked at me with that special grin and said, "Well, We would just have the Honor of meeting another Officer"
That is the grace that Gary always had about him!
That is the Gary Davis I knew and will never forget.
Thanks,
Chuck

I really hope no one minds this post. It is very cathartic for me and although a little selfish, It seems to help me cope for a while and deal with this tragedy that has taken a dear friend from ALL of us.

Hey all, I really enjoyed reading this post about Gary and what a great and caring man he was and is. I know what you all mean as I had a good friend just like that who pasted away back in 1999, and not to say I don't have other friends like that . But, its people like these who make the world a better place to live and we should all try to emmulate them in some way of fashion. No wonder this is an addicting place to be at, you have nothing but great people here to chat with and a chance to make new friends all the time. I know I have God bless Gary and his family and all the members on this board, your really a great crowd to hang out with

Even though I never met Gary first hand.....sure wish I had. Seemed like a heck of a guy. Since my computer was toast for for a couple of days.......the one post that stands out, is the one where he went to a local cruise, and the gent called his car a "Pooch"--something he didn't take lightly(but also played off). That's the last post I remember....and I chuckled at it.

I'll also miss the sad looking gent at the 7-11 Counter, in his Aviatar(what an original!).......as being I've never saw what Gary really looked like, but knew he was a cop.....I first thought someone had gotten a picture while he was working undercover.

Heck of a nice guy= and will miss seeing the old man at the counter. Godspeed Gary.