Obituary of Gary E. Wilson

Gary E. Wilson, 67 of Irmo, SC, left this earth for his Heavenly home on Tuesday, April 11, 2017. Gary was the hard working husband of 41 years to his wife, Karen, and was the extremely proud father of two sons, Aaron and Andrew. He enjoyed being there for them from playing sports in their youth, to working on their houses when they married. Gary bounded out of bed each morning with a cheerful attitude. His warm and friendly nature was always shining through. Gary was a dedicated employee of Firestone for 20 years. He was extremely touched by all of the visits from his co-workers from so many of the stores in the region. He even referred to one young man, Robby, as his third son. Gary never hesitated to help out his in-laws, as he considered them his mom and dad. He was raised by elderly foster parents, who both passed away by the time he graduated high school, and his wife's family became his family. He was also quite close with many of the neighbors and thought of them as his "cul-de-sac family". One of which, Jim, he added as another 'brother' to his growing list of relatives. Gary was so encouraged by all of the visits from Jim (and his wife) during the three weeks he was in the hospital, along with the other close neighbors who stopped in. His favorite past time in his later years was hunting with his 'brother', Tim Schuler. Gary's favorite screensaver was a picture of himself with quite a large 10-point buck, and of course, he would have wanted all to know that it was the best deer taken off the property that year! In addition to his wife, Karen, Gary is survived by his two sons, Aaron (Joy) Wilson of Lexington, SC; Andrew (Catie) Wilson of Indian Trail, NC; a brother, William (Joanne) Jones, of Mecosta, MI; a cousin, John (Marilyn) Fry of Sparta, MI; nieces and nephews and his adopted dad and mom, Karl and Jeanette Schuler of Lexington, SC. He was preceded in death by his biological mother, Verna Jean Jones Nichols of Grand Rapids, MI and his foster parents, William and Isabell Pearl Wilson of St. Joseph, MI. The family would like to state that although we are all still in shock with the sudden turn in his recovery, we couldn't be more thankful for all of the truly genuine warmth, caring and concern from everyone. May God bless you all! Funeral services will be held at Woodridge Memorial Park Gazebo on Sunday, April 23, 2017 at 3:00 PM. Inurnment will follow at Woodridge Memorial Park Mausoleum.