- Date Of Birth: October 4, 1938
- Date Of Death: July 23, 2016
- State: Idaho
Gary Walter Whitney passed away at home surrounded by family on July 23, 2016 from natural causes. Gary was born October 4, 1938 in Caldwell, Idaho to Walter and Georgia Whitney. He attended school at Marble Front and later Middleton High School. At that time his hobbies included fishing with his cousin, Melvin Pfost and hunting with his dear friend, Dale Turner.
Gary married Ramona Plambeck on August 8, 1970. They settled on the family cattle ranch where Gary worked alongside his dad. Gary and Ramona kept quite busy between their children’s activities, but Gary still found time to coach Babe Ruth Baseball for Vallivue High School alongside Ray Odermott.
Gary and Ramona were happiest when they were following their granddaughters, Whitney and Samantha, to every sporting and rodeo event they participated in. During that time they became known as Nan and Pops to the Greenleaf Friends Academy family, where Whitney and Samantha attended school. They traveled many miles hauling food and kids to these events, and enjoyed every mile and every minute. They became second grandparents to many kids. After the granddaughters graduated from school, Gary and Ramona became involved with the Caldwell Senior Center where they initiated the Bingo program and the New To You store. Many friends and wonderful memories were made there.
Next came the great grandchildren, and Gary and Ramona were on the road again to all of their activities and events.
Gary is survived by his wife Ramona; 3 children, Shane (Viki) Whitney of Moses Lake, WA, Buster (Susie) Whitney of Middleton, and Penny (David) Caldwell of Nampa; sister-in-law, Nancy (Rollie) Karpinski of Sisters, OR; brother, Stan (Beth) Whitney of Caldwell; niece, Teresa (Rick) Stephens of Caldwell; 2 granddaughters, Whitney (Brandon) Gallegos of Meridian and Samantha Caldwell (Ryan Stadler) of Boise; and 5 great-grandchildren, Madelynn, Cooper, Lilly “Toots”, Isabella and Ashton.
Gary was preceded in death by his parents, Walter and Georgia Whitney.
Through all of the busy times of his life, even during the dark days of his illness Gary’s favorite place to eat and mingle was the Cattlemen’s Cafe in Caldwell. The wonderful people there made him feel very special.
The family would like to thank Saint Alphonsus Cancer Care Center for the wonderful care they gave Gary; and a special thank you to Dr. Lindsay Sales, Dr. Kerry Pulver, Holly Simpson, Dr. Sam Summers, and Laura Lindsay.
Poppy was a selfless, brave and true warrior and was loved by many.
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