Gary Sheldon Scrimsher was the fifth of seven children born to Harry and Mildred Scrimsher. He was a New Year Eve's baby, being born on December 31, 1937 in Pasco WA. At the time of his birth, at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Pasco, his family lived in White Bluffs, where his father was a farmer along the Columbia River, about twenty miles north of present-day Richland, Washington. The family was very poor as this was during the great depression. His mother tells the story that when his sister Nancy, who was 18 months younger than Gary, was born, she had to remove one of the two safety pins that held Gary's diaper together and use it to hold Nancy's diaper together, as they didn't have the money to buy more safety pins. In 1943, all the residents of the White Bluffs/Hanford area were ordered by the federal government to pack up their belongings, including livestock, vehicles and what furniture they had, and evacuate the area within thirty days to make way for the Manhattan Project.

The family lived in several places until they finally settled in Prosser in 1943, where Gary grew up and attended all twelve years of school, graduating from High School in 1957. It was there that he met Peggy Parrish and was taught the gospel of Jesus Christ and joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in1957. He married Peggy, his high school sweetheart, in 1958. Together, Gary and Peggy were blessed with four children: Michael, Marilyn, Leslie and Rodney. They were sealed for eternity, along with their children, in the Salt lake City Temple in 1966. They celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary last year.

Gary's father was a farmer and Gary inherited his father's love of the land. As a young man, he worked with his father and brothers on the family farm north of Prosser. As a child, he remembers picking up rocks in the spring each year before planting crops. It seemed like each spring the winter cold pushed a few more rocks to the surface of the soil so this was a never-ending job. He weeded, cultivated and harvested a variety of crops learning hard work at an early age. When his father quit farming with horses, Gary became an especially talented tractor driver. As neighboring farmers saw the straight, even rows that Gary regularly plowed, before GPS, several asked him to work for them. Gary would hurry to get the work done for his father so he could get paid $1/hr. driving tractor for neighboring farmers.

Gary was involved in agriculture, in one way or another, most of his life. He managed a large corporate farm for 24 years, always treating his employees with respect and fairness. He was a problem solver and gained a stellar reputation among others in his field as a man of honesty, integrity, hard work and smart business practice. His grape harvest yield was consistently above the state average because of his attention to detail and timing. He received the WashingtonState Grape Society award for outstanding contribution to the advancement of the Grape industry. He always said that one of the blessings of farming was the opportunity that it gave him to work with and teach his children the value of hard work as they each worked alongside him.

Besides being employed as manager of Snake River Vineyard, a 3,000 acre farm, he started a custom hay operation with his sons, Michael and Rod, which allowed them to earn money for college and church mission expenses. After leaving Snake River Vineyard, he and Peggy planted their own 30-acre apple orchard which he farmed until his retirement in 2011. He also enjoyed flying airplanes, owned his own plane at one time, and had a private, commercial and instrument rating license.

Gary loved his family and was a devoted husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.

He faithfully served in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in many callings. He and Peggy were ordinances workers in the Columbia River, served as CES missionaries in the tropical islands of Tonga, teaching Tongan youth skills to help prepare them for a better future. They also served a service mission at the Home Food Storage Center here in Kennewick. Gary seemed to be able to fix anything and, with those skills, served for four years on the church maintenance crew, helping to service and maintain Church buildings from Kennewick to Selah. Gary was known in his neighborhood as the man who could fix irrigation systems or repair whatever needed to be repaired. He also volunteered as a driver, delivering Meals on Wheels to the elderly for many years.

After living in Burbank, WA for 33 years and selling their apple orchard in 2011, when Gary retired, he and Peggy moved to Kennewick where son in-law, Ira, built them a new home next to their youngest son and his wife. He didn't slow down until in his eighties when his body gradually began to fail him.

The last three months he moved gently towards death with courage and acceptance. The hardest part was that he could no longer be productive. He chose to be grateful rather than complain and kept his sense of humor to the end.

Gary was the type of man that, once you met him, you didn't forget him. He was well-versed in many subjects and truly never met a stranger. His son once said, "It's really interesting to go shopping with dad because he talks to everyone as though he has known them for years."

Gary passed away peacefully in his home in Kennewick, surrounded by family on April 9, 2024 .

He leaves behind his wife, Peggy, whom he adored, four children; Michael Scrimsher (Wendy) of Burbank, WA. Marilyn Smith (Terry) of Redding, CA, Lesie Hickman (Ira) of Kennewick, WA, and Rod Scrimsher (Angie) also of Kennewick, 17 grandchildren, 35 great-grandchildren, sister Nancy Marrs of Yakima, WA., numerous nieces and nephews and many, many friends.

Funeral services will be held on Saturday, April 13, 2024~11:00am at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 10376 Ridgeline Drive, Kennewick, Washington with a viewing prior from 10:00-11:00am. Graveside service will follow at the Prosser Cemetery.