Gary Lee Whitinger

Gary Whitinger, 76, of Sugar Hill, GA passed away Thursday, December 8, 2022. He was born in Kendrick, ID to Ray and Nina Whitinger and his brother Norman. They were raised in Lewiston, ID where he eventually graduated from. His first real love interest in cars started when he was 8 years old and submitted his custom-made model car into a contest and won. That was just the beginning. He later drag raced motorcycles and cars and built the Agitator and raced it alongside his friend/brother-in-law Tom Eubank. He worked as a Machinist at Omark in Lewiston and later in Spokane, WA. He married Margaret Eubank in 1968 and they had 3 kids: Robb, Ryan and Amber. Throughout the years, he was involved with Vintage Valley Street Rods and many other Rod Runs and Car Shows where he often won awards. In 1973 he pulled out a 1934 Dodge Panel out of a wrecking yard that was in mud up to the windows and restored it. Eventually he opened his own shop, Paint-N-Place where he did Auto Body work, custom paint jobs, restorations and of course his signature flames. He and Margaret later divorced and he met and married Cheryl in 1985 who had two boys: David and Jeremy. They enjoyed Rod Runs, weekly league bowling, planting gardens and canning and hanging out with friends as nobody was a stranger to Gary. They often took care of others and always had a dog or cat around. After years of living in and around Spokane, WA. Gary and Cheryl debarked to Las Vegas for a couple years and then eventually joined most of the family and settled in North Georgia. Gary worked with his son Ryan at MTI Baths for about 14 years. He ended up retiring a couple of times and briefly worked part time at Ace Hardware until Covid hit. He was soon diagnosed with Stage 4 Prostate Cancer. He fought hard these last couple of years until cancer and other health issues eventually took him from us. He was surrounded by his loving wife, his 3 kids and 3 of his grandchildren. To know Gary is like opening a book. Each Chapter is different but throughout the book, it is filled with laughter and jokes. He was so talented and creative and could make anything. From his “Angeled eggs” or freshly grated Idaho spud hashbrowns to his delicious cakes with signature peanut butter frosting to metal figurines, light fixtures made from random parts to cars and anything and everything with flames. If he dreamt it up, he would sketch it out and create a masterpiece. You could always find him with his wrench and a sharpie in his pocket. He could weld anything, paint anything from a toy model car to custom antique cars and was involved with a group of indoor wheelchair soccer players (Team USA) where he custom designed safety guards on the chairs, with of course flames. He enjoyed teaching his kids and grandkids but most of all he just liked to have fun and enjoy life to its fullest. From sledding and seeing “sparks”, going camping at the lake, going to the racetrack, carving pumpkins, making slip and slides or painting a car and being attacked by mice, he was sure to have a good time. Sometimes too much fun as we truly think he had at least 9 lives. But no matter the Chapter, Gary was fun to be around, treated you like family and loved you even harder. He would be sure to tell you “You’re Great!” with a thumbs up or tell you how much he loved you and how proud he was of you. He adored and spoiled his little dog Arie. He always had his quirky sayings and spoke his own language. Even though times got a little “sketchy” he stayed positive and present. If you knew him, you loved him and was a friend for life. He is deeply loved and will truly be missed. He was one of a kind! “Okie Dokie”. “Over and Out”. The End. His mom, dad, brother and many other family members and friends preceded him in death. He is survived by his loving wife Cheryl of 37 years who unselfishly took great care of him, along with her two sons David and Jeremy Grossman, ex-wife Margaret Myers and their 3 children Robb Whitinger, Ryan (Melissa) Whitinger and Amber Whitinger Nash as well as 6 grandchildren: Aaron (Hannah) Whitinger, Avery (Emily) Whitinger, Dylan and Kylee Whitinger, Dax Daugherty and Kalya Grossman as well as many friends and family members. No formal service is scheduled at this time.

Gary Lee Whitinger

July 25, 1946 - December 8, 2022