Gary Lee Waxbom

On June 1, 2015, Gary Lee Waxbom, Sr., went home to be with Jesus after his battle with cancer. He was born September 13, 1950, to Catherine (Peckham) Waxbom and Neil Waxbom in Pendleton, Ore. Gary was raised in Elgin, Ore., where he enjoyed fishing, hunting and was active in high school football and basketball, in which he excelled. After graduating from Elgin High School in 1969, Gary married Jackie (Southard) Graves and that union brought forth two sons. After t10 years of working for Boise Cascade Elgin, he and his family moved to Hermiston, Ore., where he found employment at Marlette Homes for several years. When leaving there, Gary went into construction work as a laborer and never seemed to lack for work, when jobs came to an end, since his reputation for working hard preceded him. 

From the age of 18, Gary gained a passion for sturgeon fishing and spent many hours on the banks of the Columbia River fishing. He had such an uncanny knowledge and success rate in catching the beasts that, in that circle of fisherman, he was dubbed the king of the Columbia. No matter the endeavor, he wanted to be the best and he never hesitated to help anyone who wanted to learn how to fish. Gary eventually became a guide on the Columbia River and offered sturgeon, walleye, steelhead and salmon trips through Columbia River Guide Service. His greatest reward was fishing and filming a television segment with Al Lindner of the In Fisherman on sturgeon.

Gary and Jackie divorced after 20 years of marriage, and he married Elizabeth ‘Liz’ (Buck) Collins on July 14, 1990. That union garnered for both of them a new blended family. They owned G & L Tackle in Umatilla, Ore., until May of 1995. In August of the same year they moved to northwest Montana. They lived in the Yaak for 11 months before moving to Troy. Gary mowed yards and cut and sold firewood before gaining employment as a log peeler for Les Winn who was a log home builder. They came to be very good friends over the years. Gary enjoyed Montana and the outdoor activities it offered him. He loved to fish and looked forward to hunting season every year. He often said that he wished he would have known about northwest Montana when he was younger.

In 2005, he and Liz moved to Libby after a work related accident in 2001 forced him to retire. He stayed active helping his elderly neighbors whenever he could, whether it be mowing yards or snow-blowing their driveways. He was always a caring and giving person to others and would do what he could to help.

In 2011, Gary started making copper bracelets in his little shop at home. He was very creative with that and enjoyed trying new designs. It eventually became his ministry in 2013 when he rededicated his life to Jesus. He went from selling them to giving them away just because he wanted to help others whether they could afford to buy them or not. It brought him great joy when people would tell him that the bracelets helped their pain. 

His rededication to Jesus brought a new life to Gary. He often said during his illness that he did not know how anyone could cope with a major illness without God in their life and their church family.

Gary is survived by his wife Elizabeth, Libby; sons Gary (Katy) Baker City, Ore.; Jared, Libby; step daughter Julie (Collins) Woolery, Goldendale, Wash.; stepson Lucas Collins (Lindsey) Kennewick, Wash.; mother Catherine Waxbom, Elgin, Ore.; brothers Roy Waxbom, Elgin, Ore.; Jerry Waxbom, Elgin, Ore.; and 10 grandchildren in this blended family.

Services will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, June 6, 2015, at Libby Assembly of God with a luncheon following at Wilkinson Hall.

The family requests in lieu of flowers to prayerfully consider a donation to Wings at P.O. Box 7852 Kalispell, MT 59903.