Bob - I worked with Garry at Sulco for a number of years and a more concientious person I have never met since. He also had a very naughty sense of humour which his publication for the firm called "The Little Red Chainsaw" will attest to....the many adventures of this sweet wee saw would tickle anyone's funny bone. Michele & I stayed onsite in our caravan to build his Westwood Home (kitset house) and what a major undertaking it was. His neighbour Martin Black, a miner in the Huntly coal mine, was asked to help with the main ridge beam which had to be man handled into situ...his strength was awe inspiring...and Garry's gratitude was shown in ice cream for Martin and his family for sometime to come. The Stanley Steam car was housed in the existing double shed and Garry was devoted to it's restoration. A massive project When Garry married LIt he was the happiest we had ever seen him and their many years together living and working at the house made it into an established home. In recent years we each caught up by annual Christmas cards and sadly no getting together before he passed. Garry will always be part of our lifetime memories and the stories we share are the fondest due to his unique, kind and loyal character Hope we both see you in the next life

Garry will be remembered for his wonderful manner and positive attitude. Always a super busy person, he would somehow find time to help others. For most of his life, he was known as ‘Gary’. It wasn’t until he saw his birth certificate that he realised there were two rrs in his name. Garry gained extensive expertise in all things mechanical. If he couldn’t find a part he needed, he would adapt something; if he lacked the necessary tool, he would make it. Throughout his life, his second ‘home’ was a workshop, always extremely well-equipped with top-notch facilities. As a Plant Operator at the Huntly Power Station and later Fonterra, Garry qualified as a first-class Engine Driver, entitling him to take charge of any stationary steam engine and boiler. While working at the Huntly Power Station, Garry bought a coffee lounge for our mother. It was called Maggys. After Huntly, his next venture was to create his own tour business: Time Travel Motor Tours catering to overseas tourists. Garry loved vehicles. Starting with Japanese motorcycles and then old British motorcycles adapted for motocross and dirt-track racing. In 1974 he raced a modified Triumph 500cc twin at Whakatane. Garry’s passion for sports cars began with an Austin Healy, followed by a Holden Torana and a Chevrolet Camaro. Continued work on restoration projects necessitated a change to utility vehicles, first a Datsun and later a Mazda. Garry’s interest in steam led him to join the NZ Steam Society and take on key roles. Later, he visited the American Steam Society and even appeared on its magazine's front page in 1981. Another area of interest was hand-operated game machines. His first notable success was a hockey game. In his retirement, Garry began making super coin-operated slot machines, despite suffering from Parkinson’s disease, which was slowing him down. Garry’s passing is a massive loss to me. He was more than my older brother; he was my mentor. Always supportive and ready to lend me a hand.

I guess the coals cooled down, safeties just stopped feathering and the boiler has now been blown and tubes cleaned. Thank you for all your input and help over the years. Love Russell Ward and family.

I first met Garry in 1973 after I started dating his sister, Lynn. At that stage I didn’t know that he would be my future brother-in-law when Lynn and I married in 1977. Garry has always been friendly and generous to me. When I first met Garry out on the family farm in Koromatua he was building an off road scrambler using a Rickman frame kit (I think) and a Honda XL 250 or 350 engine. Considering that the XL 350 didn’t come out until 1974 it was probably an XL 250 engine. This was a unique motocross bike in New Zealand at the time and may well have been very competitive if raced but Garry never raced it, he was more interested in building things. Garry loved building things and he was a perfectionist. On one memorable occasion Garry decided to ride his Moto Guzzi 850 Le Mans motorcycle from Hamilton to Wellington to visit Lynn and I and to show me his beloved Le Mans. Of course he spent days cleaning the bike before he left and he got almost to Wellington. I think that he got as far as Levin (465 klms) when it started to rain. Garry did not want me to see his beloved motorbike wet and muddy and so he turned around and drove home and I had to wait many months for a dry day before he again rode down to Wellington to show me the bike. Garry built and/or owned many other classic vehicles including a steam car. I will miss Garry’s friendly smile and his hilarious hand drawn birthday and Christmas cards. Doug Hunt