Gary I. Mason

Gary made his entrance into the world in Glen, NE, an invisible little village in the remote panhandle of Nebraska. He was an 11 ½ lb production number of his potato-loving mom and her legal husband. His birth was so traumatic he was unable to speak for months, but that would change forever, a few short years later. He graduated from Crawford High School in 1955, at the top of his class--6’ 3½”. Had his grades been higher, he could have been valediktorien. Shortly after graduating, he moved to Torrance, CA, to live with his older brother and two other older male friends, who grew up in Crawford. He joined the Navy in 1956 and after completing boot camp in San Diego, was transferred to Norman, OK, where, on one otherwise uneventful evening, he happened upon a Billy Graham Crusade in the University of Oklahoma football stadium. He gave his life to Christ, and, in the blink of an eye, his reason for joining the Navy—a wild pursuit of lascivious living—did a 180 degree turnabout. During his active duty, he was part of cruises to the Far East twice, and around Cape Horn, once. He was honorably discharged in March of 1959, as a 2nd class Aviation Electrician’s Mate. In September of that year, he enrolled at Nebraska State Teachers College, in Kearney, NE. He worked toward a teaching degree, majoring in Social Science and minoring in English and Physical Education, while lettering four years in basketball and track. His 223’ 9½” javelin record remains unbroken. (The weight was changed in 1986, but no one at UNK has thrown the modern javelin that far, at this date.) He served as Student Council President and received the Senior Service Award in his final year. In the Spring of 1963, he signed a contract to teach and coach at Hildreth, NE. for a whopping $5000 yearly salary, second highest in his graduating class. On August 24, 1963, he married a local Kearney librarian-to-be, named Sharon Wisch, the only woman he ever wanted to be the mother of his children—an indicator of Gary’s occasional brilliance. In 1965, they returned to Kearney and newly named Kearney State College, to work towards his master’s degree. In 1966, with master’s degree in hand, the couple moved to Park Forest, IL, a South Chicago suburb, where Gary taught and coached two years, before being accepted at The Ohio State University, as a graduate assistant, to work on his Ph.D., which he eventually received in 1978. In 1971, they moved to Wichita, KS, where he taught in the Physical Education department and supervised student teachers for eight years. In 1978, he reluctantly left the field of Education, and he moved his family back to Kearney to raise their three young daughters, Carrie, Laurie, and Julie, all three born in Wichita. After making honest efforts at a few sales jobs and as Christian Education Director at The First United Methodist Church, his working career ended as a telemarketer and trainer at Cabela’s, in 2000. Golf had become his identity after he left teaching. It gave him respectability in his personal life, when his professional life didn’t. He loved to practice and became a scratch golfer two different times. He had 11 aces and won his share of tournaments, including Club Championships at two different golf clubs. He could still shoot his age at 83, (playing winter rules) which probably doesn’t mean anything to non-golfers. He taught the game to all ages and wrote a weekly golf column for The Kearney (NE) Hub for 13 years. He gave up the employee rat race in 2000, confessing privately that he had to have been the worst employee of the late 20th century. A model employee he was not. Sad, but true. Being a volunteer teacher for his adult Sunday school class taught him a great deal about himself, others, and Christian living. In May of 2021, his wife of 57 years lost her 9-month battle with Lung Cancer; and shortly after, Gary moved to Omaha, to be near his daughters. His final three years were lived out in an Independent Living Complex in Millard. Losing Sharon was the ultimate tragedy of his life. Gary’s greatest comfort was knowing that Sharon and all three daughters were Christians. He passed from this earth on August 23, 2026. Left to cherish his memory are his daughters, Carrie Jo (Kyle) Fairbairn, Laurie Beth (Shane) Schramm and Julie Ann Mason all of Omaha; grandchildren, Mason Fairbairn, Case Fairbairn, Luke Schramm, Taylor Schramm and Jake Schramm; as well as many nieces, nephews; two honorary granddaughters; and his companion, Barb. Gary was preceded in death by his parents; wife, Sharon; brother, Guy; and sister, Shirley. A Memorial service will be held 10:30 a.m. Friday, August 28, 2026 at Kearney First United Methodist Church. Interment will be held at Kearney Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to Kearney First United Methodist Church (Designated for Christian Education or to the library), or to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital. Condolences may be shared online at www.osrfh.com. Services are entrusted to O’Brien Straatmann Redinger Funeral and Cremation Services. If he was wrong about the Christianity thing, please don’t step on any stink bugs. One of them might be ‘You-know-who.’ He summarized his public life with the following: Gary’s is a simple epitaph: He dearly loved God… And he helped people laugh. His personal/private life, he summarized this way: I became a Christian at seventeen And for the next 65 plus years I tried to be Gary Jesus. I failed and went back to being Gary. I believe Jesus was relieved. Thank God for His mercy and grace.

Gary I. Mason

June 5, 1938 - August 23, 2026