Garry J. Pape 1946-214

PAPE, CARNEY, PLUEMER, CHAUDHRY, GATENA, BAHL, STROHMEYER, FREIBURGER

Posted By: j.n. (email)
Date: 11/9/2014 at 22:07:04

Garry J. "Whitey" Pape, age 67, of Rickardsville, IA, passed away peacefully at 2:35 p.m., on Thursday, October 30, 2014, at Mercy Medical Center Dubuque surrounded by his loving family. To celebrate Whitey's life, family and friends may visit from 1:00 p.m. until 6:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 2, 2014, at Behr Funeral Home, 1491 Main St. Burial will be in Mt. Calvary Cemetery where full military honors will be accorded by the Dubuque Marine Corps League.

Whitey was born on December 12, 1946, in Dubuque, IA, son of Donald J. and Ruth (Carney) Pape.

Whitey proudly served with the US Marines, completing two tours in Vietnam. He loved to discuss politics and was always advocating for others. Whitey was an active member of the Moose Lodge and the DAV. He was actively involved in founding the Veterans Freedom Center and helping with fund raising.

He married Lynn Pluemer on December 5, 1981, in Dubuque.

Whitey was employed at the Dubuque John Deere Works, retiring in 2001. After he retired he started driving a school bus, which he loved.

He was a die hard Cubs fan, a Green Bay Packers share holder and enjoyed spending time with his dog, Hope. Whitey and Lynn loved to travel, especially to the mountains in Colorado and the beach in Mexico. Whitey had a great love for angels and it was important to him to make sure anyone he met would soon possess an angel coin of their very own. Whitey was a very generous and charismatic man who will be sadly and dearly missed by all who knew and loved him.

Whitey is survived by

his wife,
Lynn Pape, Rickardsville, IA,

his children,
Gary (Jennifer) Pape, Sherrill, IA,
Jennifer (Omar) Chaudhry, Dubuque, IA,

five grandchildren,
Gary, Joshua, Emily and Kevin Pape and Zayan Chaudhry,

his siblings,
Pat (Bob) Gatena, Dubuque, IA,
Mary Kay Bahl, Asbury, IA,
Nancy (Gary) Strohmeyer, Asbury, IA,
Diane (Mike) Freiburger, Dubuque, IA,
Betty (Mark) Stowers, East Dubuque, IL,

his sisters-in-law,
Sharon Pluemer, Dubuque, IA,
Sheila Pluemer, Dubuque, IA,

his brother-in-law,
Mike (Linda) Pluemer, Asbury, IA,

many nieces and nephews.

Whitey was preceded in death by his parents, his in-laws, Lloyd and Millie Pluemer, a brother Donald J. Pape and four brothers-in-law, Roger Bahl, Dan Pluemer, Gary Pluemer, Greg Pluemer.

A Garry J. "Whitey" Pape memorial fund has been established to support his favorite organizations.

A special thanks to Dr. Christine Sinsky and her staff for their wonderful care throughout the years.