Gary Wayne Diehl

Was born on 01-03-1944 in Keokuk, Iowa to Austin Eugene Diehl and Marjorie Louise (Kirchner) Diehl. He was raised in Kahoka, Missouri. He attended kindergarten class which was held at the Masonic Temple. (He would later marry one of his classmates.) He was a baptized member of Kahoka Baptist Church. He attended Kahoka Public School and graduated in 1962 from Kahoka High School. He had been in U.S. Navy Reserves while in his senior year and attended weekend meetings in Hannibal, Missouri. He went on active duty following high school graduation, serving 1962-1964. He served aboard the U.S.S. Murray, where he was on board for a Mediterranean cruise. He was there for the Cuban blockade and remembered Russian airplanes overhead and has photos of a Russian submarine nearby their ship. He was a Lifetime member of Veterans of Foreign Wars. After his honorable discharge, he was employed at the John Deere Foundry in Silvis, Illinois in maintenance. He enjoyed racing motocross motorcycles and working on race cars. He reconnected with his former kindergarten and KHS classmate Karen Ann Hodges and was married July 2, 1966 in Chaffee, Missouri, by Rev. Richard S. Golden, a former pastor in Kahoka, Missouri. They resided on Campbell’s Island, East Moline, Illinois, where they welcomed two sons, Damon and Colin. He was an avid supporter of whatever activities they choose to be involved in such as Awana Clubs, basketball, swimming, soccer, baseball and judo but his favorite was always BMX racing. He moved his membership to Wildwood Baptist Church. Gary moved on to Caterpillar Tractor Company in Mt. Joy, Iowa where he entered into and graduated from a Heat Treat Apprenticeship program. He once sold insurance but the suit and tie were not his thing. He traveled parts of Illinois and Iowa for Dunrite selling to grain elevators, where he served his customers faithfully. He later began his own business, Mississippi Sign Co. He created custom signs from a multitude of materials including molded plastic, steel, wood and electronics. He once designed, created and installed digital readout signs at a large local factory with the help of a dozen of his very skillful friends. As the corporation his wife worked for downsized, the family chose to transfer to the Kansas City area, relocating in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. Gary worked at Summit Dodge, first in sales and then as parts manager. His last employment was for a plumbing supply business where he kept their fleet of trucks rolling, from maintenance to the multitude of inspections and paperwork required, and sometimes made deliveries when needed. After his wife accepted an early retirement, he later made the choice to do so as well. He enjoyed working in his yard, visiting with friends and tinkering on vehicles, especially his beloved Jeep. He rebuilt a 1967 Ford Fairlane 500 (which had been purchased new by a relative) for his oldest son, who has since passed it down to the youngest. He often was invited to assist friends, among them R. E. Quick, Vern (Joyce) Austin and Phil (Dianne) Roberts, on their work projects, bringing his extensive skill set and repartee in a variety of areas. He was a lifelong passionate race car fan. From the local track in Keokuk, Iowa as a youngster to Odessa, Missouri in his later years, any chance to attend in person was a thrill. When a national track came to Kansas, he enjoyed the inaugural race and later did a driver ride there. NASCAR was his television highlight and he once traveled to Martinsville for a race. The absolute favorite thing he enjoyed most was attending BMX racing to watch his three grandsons participate at their various levels. One made mains at Grand Nationals in Tulsa, Oklahoma and secured a second place win (trophy taller than he was). All three once won a a Missouri plate the same year. Another was Missouri State Champion two years in a row in his expert age group. He was preceded in death by his brother Dennis Carl Diehl of Atkinson, Illinois, brother-in-law Rex O. Tracy of Cary, North Carolina, brother-in-law Wilber Charles (Bud) Hodges, Jr. of Coal Valley, and is survived by his wife Karen Hodges Diehl of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, son Dr. Damon Wayne Diehl (Bradley Edward Craddock) of Rochester, New York, son Colin Wayne Diehl (Jill) of Blue Springs, Missouri, grandsons Coltin Wayne Diehl, Brayden Edward Wayne Diehl and Ethan Wayne Diehl, sister Jean Diehl Tracy of Cary, North Carolina, sister-in-law Helen (Tab) Diehl of Atkinson, Illinois, sister-in-law Valerie Niclas Hodges of Coal Valley, Illinois, along with treasured nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews. In addition he is survived by many cherished friends who choose to live life one day at a time, among them Doug, Tom, Raul, Kerek, Mary, Paula and Debbie and was preceded in death by Don (Norma) and Jim.