A final cheers....

Gary and I with a Founders KBS!!

Anyone that has been following this blog for the last year or so are well aware of our "Rover Beer Czar Corespondent" my Uncle Gary. He contributed many pieces to this blog, of his travels through out the amazing Central Michigan Beer scene. It is with much sadness, I have to report to you all, that earlier this afternoon, May 13th,, my Uncle Gary lost his battle with mesothelioma and passed away at his home in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with his wife, my Aunt Linda, and his daughters, my cousins Cari and Jenny, and other family members, including my father, at his side.



Growing up, my dad's family wasn't very close, he has 5 brothers and a sister, and early on, we saw almost all of them on a fairly regular basis. However, the one we were probably the closest to, and spent the most time with, was my Uncle Gary, despite the fact that he lived in Michigan, and we were in NH and Maine. While I have a number of cousins, none are close to us as his daughters are. Luckily, we were always very close to him, and his family. We saw Gary and the girls often, and were always "privileged" to his stories of whatever he might have been working on or going on at the time. Be it his writing, his one man play about Ernie Pyle, his weight lifting competition (he actually holds a world record, or at least use too...), there was always a lot for Gary to talk about, always some story to tell. He always seemed to have a lot going on.

Gary and Linda, at Guinness

A while back, Hop Cat in Grand Rapids, MI was voted one of the best beer bars in the country. I knew Gary was somewhat of a beer fan, so I asked him if he would mind taking a run over to Hop Cat, takeing a few pictures, and maybe writing up a little peice for my blog. Well, that was the first of many adventures he took us on, reporting from major events like Founders KBS release day, or reviewing some of the heavy weights in the craft beer scene, like Three Floyds, to the new up and comers, trying to make it like Harmony Brewing, Gary was able to share a little slice of one of the great beer regions of the country, and for that, I thank him, and I will miss him.

So please, lets all take a moment, raise our glass one last time, to the Roving Beer Czar Corespondant,
Uncle Gary. Thanks for all your hard work, Godspeed, and fairwell Uncle Gary.

Cheers Gary.....

The Beer Czar

Here are some of Gary's contributions to The Beer Czar

Beer Heaven Right here on Earth
It's all about the beer, and then some...
Neighborhood Success
Dark Horse, Marshell Michigan
Schmohz Brewing-little brewery with big heart
Three Floyds