Gary Minnerath

BENJAMIN FUNERAL SERVICE NOWATA, OKLAHOMA  918-273-2700...

Gary R. Minnerath

Born September 8, 1938, US Navy Veteran, pilot, teacher, retired  rancher, detailed story teller, devoted husband and one of the best friends a person could ever have, took his final solo flight on September 7, 2020 at 81 years 364 days old.  Gary lived in North Dakota and California most of his young life.  After joining the service, he became a pilot and flew all over the world.  He met, what he called the best thing to ever happen to him, Janet (Earnshaw) Minnerath in California and they married on June 5, 1965.  Gary attended college on the GI bill and attained his Masters of Arts Degree.  He worked as an educator and administrator in Virginia, Louisiana, Oklahoma and a number of other states.  Being in the pilot or co-pilot seat was one of Gary’s favorite things.  He taught flying classes for years until macular degeneration robbed him of his site.  Gary & Janet moved to Nowata in 2000 and he often said he’d lived a lot of places, but this was by far his favorite.  Gary could talk guns, wars, cows, tractors and most any other subject with knowledge that would captivate you.  He has done more things and traveled to more places than most people could ever dream of.   He had a nickname for most everything, if you knew Gary most likely you had a nickname too.  Gary Minnerath a/k/a the geezer touched more lives and will be missed by more people than he will ever know.

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