Gary LeRoy Coons, 66, died Monday, Sept. 24, 2012, at his Kooskia home. Gary was born July 6, 1946, in Vancouver, Wash., to Donald and Viola Coons. He has a twin sister, Carol. The family moved to Kooskia in 1957 and then later to Stites.
Gary excelled in football, basketball and baseball during high school. He received the Ray Bowles and Fred Parsons Memorial upon graduating from Clearwater Valley High School in 1964. He attended LCSC from 1964 to 1967.
Gary was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1968. He completed two tours in Vietnam as a helicopter mechanic. He was discharged in 1970.
He married Janice Cooper in Emmett, Idaho, in 1971 and became father to her young daughter, Stacey. They had a daughter, Kelly. They later divorced.
Gary met Michele VanderPol in 1978. They were married in Winnemucca, Nev., Dec. 10, 1983. They lived in Horseshoe Bend, Idaho, until moving to Kooskia in 2002.
While attending college he worked for Zellner Lumber Co. in Kooskia. Gary began working for Boise Cascade Corporation in Horseshoe Bend, Idaho, in 1971. He was a millwright and in 1979 he became a foreman. He retired when the mill shut down in 1996.
His home was his haven along with "his girls": Michele, Kelly, Taylor and Torrie. He enjoyed hunting, fishing, and camping with family and friends.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Don and Vi Coons, and his twin brothers, Ron and Don Coons.
He is survived by his loving and devoted wife of 34 years, Michele at their Kooskia home; daughter, Kelly (Bob) Pfefferkorn and twin granddaughters, Taylor and Torrie, all of Kooskia; daughter, Stacey Fallwell and grandsons, Michael, Parker and Garrett of Centralia, Wash.; twin sister, Carol (Leo) Robinett, brother, Mike (Vicki) Coons, and sister, Joyce Coons, all of Stites; sister-in-law, Sharon Coons of Emmett, Idaho; sister-in-law, Teri (Joe) Landon of Mackey, Idaho; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Private family services will be held. Trenary Funeral Home in Kooskia is assisting the family.
