Tbaker
UKC Forum Member
Registered: Jun 2003
Location: SW Michigan-again
Posts: 2311 |
One of the Good Guys- Mr. Plumb
This was written by one of his classmates and thought it would be nice to share---
Sometimes I still find it difficult to learn again one of life's lessons. Especially when that lesson is about death. As in, it will happen to all of us at some point. Hopefully, not too soon, however.
That lesson slapped me in the face again on March 14 when I learned that schoolmate and life-long friend, Gary Plumb, had passed away. He was only 68. Now, there was a time when I thought 68 was old, ancient even. But that's when I was young and carefree. Now that I'm 68 also, it does not feel old at all. And it's too young for my friends to be passing.
Gary Plumb, Almont High Class of 1965, was truly one of the "good guys." I think that everyone he ever came in contact with liked him. He always had a smile on his face, told a great story, laughed and made you laugh freely and often. I knew Gary since elementary school in the early 1950s. Gary was always one of the most popular kids in school.
We were both Baby Boomers, born in 1947. Almont was a very small town. There were only a few hundred kids in the whole school so we all knew almost everyone. I knew all of the kids for four grades either side of mine.
A lot of us would play together after school and in the summer regardless of what class we were in. Gary was on a number of baseball teams I played on in pick-up games. And in high school many of us were on the same teams, clubs, student council, etc. It seems like only a short time ago we were hustling through the halls of Almont High but, sadly, the class of '64 has lost five members, the class of '65, eleven and my own class of '66 another five.
After graduation, most of us went our separate ways but saw each other when we visited the old hometown and many of remain in touch by email.
When I wrote my first book, "Answering the Call to Duty," about Almont in the Civil War, Gary drove to Lapeer for a book signing and we had a great time. When we dedicated a plaque downtown commemorating the Almonters in the Civil War, Gary was there. He was very supportive of his hometown. He donated all of his school yearbooks to the Almont District Library and was a town historian.
There are tons of Gary Plumb stories. I'm sure everyone who knew him had at least one.
Rosemary Dombrowski remembers Gary as the older brother she never had. She related this story to me. "My mother had very strong opinions about underage girls riding in any boy's car. So of course, when Gary asked me if I wanted to go cruising, one fine spring afternoon after school, I said yes. We avoided downtown Almont and headed for the back roads, windows down, music blasting...of course we happened to have chosen back roads that caused us to cross path with my Mom on her after school bus route." (Mrs. Dombrowski drove an Almont school bus every day).
"Gary did his best to stay low key as we passed the bus, but alas, Mom spotted us and I caught heck when I got home. Gary had to 'duck' my Mom for weeks. Years later, when I ran into Gary (our sons played on the same ball team) he asked me if I had been on any good back roads lately…and then he laughed that wonderful laugh of his."
Toni Lee after inviting Gary and Pat, Gary's wife, to Alaska for a moose hunt: "Out of the woods popped a nice 1,200 pound bull moose. Gary shot, nothing happened. He didn't have a round in his gun. The moose slowly moved back into the woods. Gary followed. Bob (Toni's husband) took off at a right angle. Then bang! Bang, bang bang. It sound as though they were making hamburger right there in the field. Bob shouted, 'I got him, Gary!' Gary shouted,
'No, I got him!' Bob said 'I am standing right here beside him.' Gary said 'I have my hand on his horns.' They had bagged two different moose!"
Joe Syler: "Gary and I were pals in elementary school. I thought Gary was a cool guy 'cuz he always had smile on his face. When I moved away, we lost touch with one another. In 2000, the phone rang, I answered and on the other end a voice boomed out 'Syler is that you?' I answered yes. He asked 'Did you go to school in Almont and live on Bordman Road?' I said yup and he said 'this is Gary Plumb and I've been looking for you for years.' Because of his persistence in trying to find me, long-ago friendships were rekindled and have now developed into close adult relationships. I will be forever grateful to him for bringing my childhood friends back into my life."
Bob Wilson sent along this story. "Ever since he started hunting coons in the woods, Gary would stop at the house and chat for a minute to let me know he was going to be in the woods. My wife (Beverly) and I had just started dating and were having drinks on the deck with Gary's classmate Stan and Merry Williams. Gary walked around the house to the deck and startled us
when he said loudly in that distinctive voice 'MR. WILSON!'
Beverly looked at the outfit, the ammo belt, the gun and the spotlight on his head and said, "OH MY GOD, BOB, ARE YOU UNDER ARREST?"
I heard from many of his friends who said things like, "He was my special friend." "He was like my big brother." "He always talked to me in study hall." "He always made me feel like I mattered."
Gary was a great family man. He married Patricia Cuthbertson on July 3, 1969 and they had two sons, Corey and Aaron and five grandchildren. The heartfelt sympathy of all of Gary's friends go out to them.
Gary Plumb was not a famous celebrity. What he was, was a good, honest, decent man who touched a lot of lives in a positive way over his whole lifetime. Can anyone ask for more than that? Rest in peace. And thank you, Gary.
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Back to michigan again. Giving it anouther go
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04-04-2016 03:19 PM
