Gary Lynn Montgomery's Obituary
Gary Lynn Montgomery passed away peacefully at home, returning to his Heavenly Father on July 9, 2024. Gary was born October 19, 1951, in Salt Lake City, Utah, to Dan Cameron Montgomery and Donna Evelyn (Woodruff) Montgomery; he was the last of their 5 children. Gary was born with a massive hole in his heart, and medical staff remarked that it wasn’t likely he would live past a day. Throughout his 72 years, he was proud of his Irish, Scottish, and Dutch heritage. Gary was a farmer, explosives expert, handyman, remodeler, construction worker, caterer, Army Veteran, lineman, and car mechanic. He grew up in Bluffdale Utah until his family moved to Idaho after losing the family farm to a fire. The family returned to Utah and Dad graduated from Cyprus High School in 1970. He attended Rick’s College in Idaho for 1 day until his mother called informing him that he had been drafted for the Vietnam war. Dad chose to enlist and served actively in the Army for 8 years during which he was sealed to his first wife Connie Halstead in the Salt Lake City Temple and together had 9 children. Gary served overseas in Vietnam, Japan, and Korea as a radio repairman. Dad was honorably discharged from the Army with 4 awards: Good Conduct Medal (2nd AWD), National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, and Expert(Rifle). Due to the classified nature of Gary’s missions, his family remains curious as to the merits for the awards. Following his military discharge, Gary’s best friend introduced him to the new love of his life, Sharlene Fisher at an LDS dance in 1994. They eloped in September of 1995 and together had 2 boys. 14 years later they were sealed in the Bountiful Temple on November 21, 2009. Dad gained firm and unquestioning testimony of God’s Great Plan of Happiness and in the Prophet Joseph Smith and the Restoration. Dad is a prime example of repentance and improvement through the Atoning Power of the Lord Jesus Christ. He earnestly and imperfectly strived to repair and connect with his children and grandchildren until the end of his life. His life reflected the value of improvement, passion for projects, and the value of reading many good books. Dad’s greatest love was seeing his children and grandchildren have success and overcome limitations. In his retirement, Dad was an avid BYU Sports fan and served by cleaning the church building for 7 years with Sharlene and Travis. Gary is survived by Sharlene, his dear wife of 29 years, and children Charity (Devon) Walker of Salt Lake City; Jeremy (Maegon) Montgomery of Oregan; Matt Montgomery of Tooele; Chris Montgomery of Ogden; Jonathan (Kristina) Montgomery of Salt Lake City; Jennifer (Matt) Tippets of Roosevelt; Joshua (Corrina) of Boise, ID; Gary Jr. of Magna; Cory (Vanessa) Montgomery of West Jordan; Wayne (Melinda) Montgomery of Forth Worth, TX; Travis Montgomery of Bountiful, and his brothers Wally and Mike Montgomery; 37 grandchildren and a gaggle of great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be held at 11:00 AM on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, at the Bountiful 11th Ward LDS Chapel, 115 E Wicker Ln, Bountiful, Utah. Friends may join the Viewing at 9:30 AM before the funeral. Interment will be in the Bountiful Cemetery.
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