Gary R. Morrow passed away peacefully on March 26, 2022 at the age of 81. He was a beloved husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, and friend.
Born in Burlington, WA to Don and Ida (Sanford) Morrow on October 16, 1940, he was the youngest of three. He married the love of his life and high school sweetheart, Margaret (Spoelstra) in Burlington on March 11, 1961. Together they had four beautiful children and recently celebrated 61 years of marriage.
Gary grew up in Skagit Valley, graduating from Mount Vernon High School in 1959 and Skagit Valley College.
His work as a Mechanical Engineer for Skagit Corp., Bendix, Berger. Skagit SMATCO and Oil States took him around the world, working in Japan, Singapore, Scotland, Canada, Oregon, California, Texas and Louisiana. He refused to retire and later became an independent contractor.
He loved fishing, hunting, golfing and camping. He was an avid fisherman and loved teaching his children how to fish on the Skagit River, Baker Lake and Lake Shannon. You could find him most weekends with his sons, son-in-law or daughter on the Skagit River catching Silvers, Steelhead, Pinks or Chum. He loved hunting deer, elk and duck with his sons in Eastern Washington.
There was nothing more important to him than family – family was everything to Gary. He was a loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend. He was a great provider, honest, hardworking, and loved celebrating birthdays and holidays with his family. He could be found driving his grandchildren around his property on his John Deere with a giant smile on his face during the summer months. He had a heart of gold, was smart, loving, witty, a storyteller and jokester. Gary taught his children the importance of family, to be forgiving, hardworking, and loving – giving them a foundation to succeed.
Gary loved animals, all animals! He fed and cared for every bird, deer, squirrel, raccoon, dog, and cat within a 25 mile radius – mom hated it! He spent his mornings feeding and talking to all the critters that roamed his property. The neighbor cats, followed by roosters, soon adopted Gary.
Gary is survived by his beautiful wife and best friend, Margaret; daughters, Kim O’Hara of Burlington, Mindi (Jim) Brock of Vida, OR.; sons, Kelly (Trudie) Morrow of Concrete, Scott Morrow of Burlington; grandchildren, Krystal (Steven) Otto, Kory, Alexa, Jacob; great-grandchildren, Aiden, Ethan and Madison; nieces and nephews; Penny, Denny, Kim, Linda, Pam, Tom, Janet, Tim, Debbie, Michele, Gina, Aaron, Ron, Jeni, Carrie, Jeff, Jason, Pam, Tina, Justin, Alicia; and a large extended family. Gary will be greatly missed by family and friends.
Including his parents, Gary was preceded in death by his brother Donald (Buster) Morrow, and sister Jean Swan.
The family wishes to express a heartfelt thank you to all the staff and nurses at the Whatcom Hospice House in Bellingham.
A viewing will be held from 9:00 to 5:00 p.m. on April 6 and 7 at Lemley Chapel in Sedro-Woolley. A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, April 16, 2022 at 3:00 p.m. at Burlington City Hall, 833 S. Spruce Street, Burlington. He will be laid to rest at a private service at Bow Cemetery. Share your memories of Gary and sign the online guest register.
I”m so sorry to hear of Gary’s passing. I enjoyed working with him at Skagit Mfg, and later running into him out and about. He always put a smile on my face and laughter in my heart. May you all find comfort in each other during this time.
Margaret, you and your family will always be in our prayers and thoughts. Gary will be missed by many. I will always remember our times working together for Continental Emsco and Oil States. Gary was a great friend to everyone he knew. I don’t think I ever saw him upset, unless someone was talking about politics.
We remember Gary as a fun- loving nice guy. He stayed over at our place a couple of days while Greetje was at my sister’s.
He loved the Heineken beer we had in the fridge. 😊🍺. Love and hugs ❤
Worked with Gary for several decades at Skagit, will miss that great smile and sense of humor. Margaret and family, our thoughts and prayers are with you, so sorry for your loss.
Margaret & Family. So sorry to hear about Gary’s death. I send my heartfelt thoughts and prayers. I have many memories of our fun times together. It is so hard when the love of our lives is gone. I pray for strength and peace as you continue your journey on earth. Hugs
You will be remembered in lots of ways…Work, fishing, golfing it was
a pleasure. Thanks for all the education you gave him on blueprints to help
me with my job. It was my pleasure knowing you and your family.
Jerry and I will certainly miss knowing that we might run into Gary when we are in Wa. We always loved our chats with him. Margaret, please give our love and condolences to the family. You made Gary so happy and he took great pride in having you as his wite for all of those years. Stay strong and remember all of the good times. Anyone who knew Gary knows what a great guy he has always been. we will always miss him!
i will miss gary worked with gary for a lot of years may he rest in peace. jerry
Dear Margaret,
Thank you for letting us know that Gary had passed. He is going to be missed by so many people. We have such fond memories of you guys. I believe the first fish Ed caught was with Gary.
Give our love the the family, we will remember all of you I. Our prayers.
Margaret, So sorry to hear of Gary’s passing. I was a co-worker with him at a couple different places. He was a good man. Prayers to you and your family.
Terry/Glennda Bickley
First as neighbors & co-workers, then friends, we had many years of good fun together with you & Gary. Loved being out on the boat fishing with you both, camping with all the kids and so much more; then in later years playing Pinochle. Love you both!
He will be missed by many. My thoughts are with you & the family during this difficult time.
My dear Margaret and family, my heart goes out to you. May you know that God is holding him tight in his loving arms, until you can be together again. He will surely be missed.