Gary Specker

With a very wide range of talents and interests, Gary read avidly and traveled broadly. He was an enthusiastic adventurer, especially in an RV with his wife of 57 years, and particularly to Alaska. He was an accomplished lifelong runner, completing 25 marathons. Gary was a longtime member of Plymouth Congregational Church, and a devotedly curious seeker of spiritual and intellectual truths. He was a passionate pursuer of education for himself and a supporter for others, especially in the liberal arts and sciences—begun for him in childhood with mechanical tinkering and science fiction reading; nurtured at Grinnell College (B.A. ‘64) and Carnegie Mellon University (M.S. ‘66); and never slowing thereafter. He researched family history, the history of New England, and the various religious traditions of North America and their evolution. In his technology career, and in all things, he had an unbounded interest in the scientific, technological and mechanical. For Gary, a best day was designing, fixing or upgrading a system. He was a patron of the arts with a great fondness for classical music and opera, and a baseball fan. Gary loved conversations over dinner and gregarious time with family and friends. Most of all, he was a devoted husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend.

A resident of Minneapolis, Gary passed away June 22, 2021, at age 79.

Gary was predeceased by parents Betty and Herbert, and survived by wife Sue, and sons Mark (Kristi) and Robert (Maria); grandchildren Penelope, Andrew “Chip”, Henry and Annie; brothers Wayne (Deannea, dec.) and Steve (Janice); sister Mary (John) Stone; and many other family and friends.

Memorial gifts may be made in Gary Specker’s name to The Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, the Mayo Clinic, and Grinnell College.