Garry William Stroud
was born May 17, 1940, in Deloraine, Manitoba and he has a younger sister Donna. He was 6 weeks premature and only weighed 3.5 lbs. His Mom kept him in a Apple box on the oven to keep him warm. He sure made up for that though as time went on! He grew to be six feet, three inches tall and 175 pounds!!
By the time Garry was three he was reading and doing arithmetic. When he finally got to school he was easily bored and kept getting into mischief. So by the time he was five he starting teaching himself to play guitar. He wanted to play so bad that he would sit up late and play till his fingers would bleed. Garry was like that, he was so determined to finish something that he would just keep at it till it was done.
While Garry was in school, he loved to play sports. Football became his choice after a while. But Garry’s love remained to music. It was not long before he was playing and singing in places for people. His favorite song was “My Woman, My Woman, My Wife” a song by Marty Robbins. No matter what the subject, Garry could make it into a song and sing it. Most memorable was his impression of Louie Armstrong’s song “St. Louis Blues”. His other love was electronics. When he was seven he was helping his uncle build crystal ham-radios. One incident that sticks out in my mind is that when he was 12 his Mom and Daddy bought a T.V. and Garry took it apart. When his Mom found it in pieces she said “We are going up town and when we come back, it better be back together and working” and believe it or not, it sure was! It took him only a little over an hour to do this task. One other time he bugged his sister’s room and hot-wired her doorknob to the bed. Garry just loved anything that was ahead of its time and could challenge his mind. Garry’s other passion was reading and more reading. Garry’s love for the Lord was very deep and he taught himself to speed read so the he could the study the Bible. He loved John Gill and researching the whys, when’s, how’s, and wherefores. I just loved everything about Garry and his love for life and his compassion for others, which sometimes got him into trouble. Garry’s favourite colour was blue. His favourite dish was turkey with cranberry sauce and dessert was pumpkin pie with real whip cream, no canned variety! Garry enjoyed Thanksgiving because he always saw the silver lining in everything and he was grateful for everything the Lord provided. I think it was his special holiday because he was always thanking the Lord for the good and the bad that happened. Garry’s soft heart made him an animal-lover. Animals seemed to really like Garry and he had many special times with Pickles, Krystal’s toy poodle, and with “Tootsie & Mesha” who always “helped” him when he was working on the computer. By helping, that could mean pulling plugs or sitting on the keyboard! Garry was an “Eternal Optimist”. No matter how bad a situation or how tragic a turn in the road of life occurred, he always expressed ‘Hope’. Once when some friends of ours were in the midst of a personal financial crisis, Garry said “Don’t worry, everything will get better, there is always Tomorrow.” Sometimes Garry’s eternally optimistic personality could make one most frustrated because he never looked at anything as being on the bad side! Then he would be challenged to “find the silver lining” to illustrate the good merits of a situation and Garry could ALWAYS find something that was on the bright side. Even if it was a small detail or a humorous spin on a serious matter. Garry always saw “the good” in a person no matter how cantankerous, rude, narrow-minded, etc. they may be. This ability to always accept people as they were made Garry a very easy person for people to talk to. And talk he did! Many times Garry was threatened with a phone being attached to him permanently because he was on it all the time. His nickname was “Gabby”!! Garry was a sincere person and he never expected an individual to put on airs or pretend to be something they weren’t. He liked people to just be themselves. Being very down-to-earth himself, people found him very likeable and easy to talk to. Garry was a true believer in God in every sense of the word. His whole life was built upon serving the Lord, and he made God the head of his household, the Father of his family. He shared his love of the Lord with his wife Nancy May (his precious) and children Krystal Dawn (his Krissy Pooh and Scott Michael (his big teddy bear). Together they are a close loving family, brought closer by prayer and their love of the Lord. Nothing was more important to Garry than his family.
Thank you to everyone who has come to share in this celebration of Garry’s life. It means so very much to his family to have his life honoured in this way. Garry wouldn’t want any tears or sadness today, he would see it as a celebration of him going home to be in heaven with the Lord. Like Garry always said, “Don’t look DOWN, Look UP!” So please, smile today when you think of Garry, and be sure to share all your memories of him with all the other family and friends who have gathered here today. Written by Nancy May Stroud (devoted wife of Garry)
By the time Garry was three he was reading and doing arithmetic. When he finally got to school he was easily bored and kept getting into mischief. So by the time he was five he starting teaching himself to play guitar. He wanted to play so bad that he would sit up late and play till his fingers would bleed. Garry was like that, he was so determined to finish something that he would just keep at it till it was done.
While Garry was in school, he loved to play sports. Football became his choice after a while. But Garry’s love remained to music. It was not long before he was playing and singing in places for people. His favorite song was “My Woman, My Woman, My Wife” a song by Marty Robbins. No matter what the subject, Garry could make it into a song and sing it. Most memorable was his impression of Louie Armstrong’s song “St. Louis Blues”. His other love was electronics. When he was seven he was helping his uncle build crystal ham-radios. One incident that sticks out in my mind is that when he was 12 his Mom and Daddy bought a T.V. and Garry took it apart. When his Mom found it in pieces she said “We are going up town and when we come back, it better be back together and working” and believe it or not, it sure was! It took him only a little over an hour to do this task. One other time he bugged his sister’s room and hot-wired her doorknob to the bed. Garry just loved anything that was ahead of its time and could challenge his mind. Garry’s other passion was reading and more reading. Garry’s love for the Lord was very deep and he taught himself to speed read so the he could the study the Bible. He loved John Gill and researching the whys, when’s, how’s, and wherefores. I just loved everything about Garry and his love for life and his compassion for others, which sometimes got him into trouble. Garry’s favourite colour was blue. His favourite dish was turkey with cranberry sauce and dessert was pumpkin pie with real whip cream, no canned variety! Garry enjoyed Thanksgiving because he always saw the silver lining in everything and he was grateful for everything the Lord provided. I think it was his special holiday because he was always thanking the Lord for the good and the bad that happened. Garry’s soft heart made him an animal-lover. Animals seemed to really like Garry and he had many special times with Pickles, Krystal’s toy poodle, and with “Tootsie & Mesha” who always “helped” him when he was working on the computer. By helping, that could mean pulling plugs or sitting on the keyboard! Garry was an “Eternal Optimist”. No matter how bad a situation or how tragic a turn in the road of life occurred, he always expressed ‘Hope’. Once when some friends of ours were in the midst of a personal financial crisis, Garry said “Don’t worry, everything will get better, there is always Tomorrow.” Sometimes Garry’s eternally optimistic personality could make one most frustrated because he never looked at anything as being on the bad side! Then he would be challenged to “find the silver lining” to illustrate the good merits of a situation and Garry could ALWAYS find something that was on the bright side. Even if it was a small detail or a humorous spin on a serious matter. Garry always saw “the good” in a person no matter how cantankerous, rude, narrow-minded, etc. they may be. This ability to always accept people as they were made Garry a very easy person for people to talk to. And talk he did! Many times Garry was threatened with a phone being attached to him permanently because he was on it all the time. His nickname was “Gabby”!! Garry was a sincere person and he never expected an individual to put on airs or pretend to be something they weren’t. He liked people to just be themselves. Being very down-to-earth himself, people found him very likeable and easy to talk to. Garry was a true believer in God in every sense of the word. His whole life was built upon serving the Lord, and he made God the head of his household, the Father of his family. He shared his love of the Lord with his wife Nancy May (his precious) and children Krystal Dawn (his Krissy Pooh and Scott Michael (his big teddy bear). Together they are a close loving family, brought closer by prayer and their love of the Lord. Nothing was more important to Garry than his family.
Thank you to everyone who has come to share in this celebration of Garry’s life. It means so very much to his family to have his life honoured in this way. Garry wouldn’t want any tears or sadness today, he would see it as a celebration of him going home to be in heaven with the Lord. Like Garry always said, “Don’t look DOWN, Look UP!” So please, smile today when you think of Garry, and be sure to share all your memories of him with all the other family and friends who have gathered here today. Written by Nancy May Stroud (devoted wife of Garry)