Gary Des Jardins
Gary Bernard Des Jardins, 81, died January 9, 2022, after a brief illness. He was born February 1, 1940, to Bernard and Evelyn (Corrigan) Des Jardins and grew up on Doty Street. Gary was a graduate of Cathedral Grade School and Premontre High School with the class of 1958. He didn’t wait long to wed his high school sweetheart, joining Mary Kathleen Klika in holy matrimony on July 5, 1958, at the Cathedral. Many children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren followed, and while Gary didn’t have any personal hobbies, he and Mary were often found celebrating the hobbies and successes of his beloved family-recitals, sporting events, concerts, graduations…he was a very proud patriarch. Gary’s Catholic faith was a constant throughout his life. He sacrificed to put his children through Catholic schools and was an active member of St. John the Evangelist Parish as well as their Booster Club.
Gary was a talented salesman and instilled his dedicated work ethic in his children. After providing Green Bay families with Kansas City Life Insurance for 15 years, Gary began a career with Sell -Even Building Products. He and Mary moved to Peoria, IL in 1985 where he served as Vice President of Sales for AirVent. He finished his career with Geocel Adhesives before retiring to his dream home, a lake house on White Lake in Weyauwega. The couple moved back to Green Bay in 2014.
He is survived by Mary, his wife of 63 years; eight children, Lisa (Bill) Larscheid, Stacy (Mark) Nies, Leslie (Pat) Wong, Renee (Jeff) Verboncouer, Paul Des Jardins, Paige Reynolds, David (Emily) Des Jardins, Daniel (Joy) Des Jardins; his grandchildren, Sarah (Joe) Olson, Michael (Deidre) Larscheid, Megan (Louis) Skaggs, Chandler (Jon) Nies, Cory Nies, Andrew (Kassi) Wong, Tony (Kayla) Wong, Erik (Kristina) Butterfield, Alex (Rachel) Verboncouer, Matthew (Emily) Des Jardins, Danielle (Jason) Garber, Nate (Kate) Des Jardins, Natalie Des Jardins, Jordan (Nick) O’Neill, Nic (Molly) Reynolds, Noah Reynolds, Nelson Reynolds, Kaydn, Drew, Sam, Lakelynn Des Jardins, Isaiah, Lucy, Olivia, Simon, Noah, and Zach Des Jardins; great-grandchildren, Scarlett, Arthur, Madeline, Benjamin, Isaiah, Leo, Lucas, Aubrey, Nolan, Anna, Maggie, Abigail, Addilyn, Jettson, Derek, Graham, Will, Max and Maya; his siblings, Mary Hitchcock and Bernard Des Jardins, a sister-in-law, Judy Sustman; many nieces and nephews.
He was greeted in heaven by a son, David Michael; a daughter-in-law, Sally Des Jardins; his parents, Bernard and Evelyn Des Jardins; his father-in-law and mother-in-law, Whitey and Audrey Klika; two brothers, Cleon and Dennis (Ann) Des Jardins; two brothers-in-law, Dale Hitchcock and John Sustman.
Visitation will take place on Saturday, January 15th, at St. Francis Xavier Cathedral, 140 S. Monroe Ave., from 9:30 to 10:50 a.m. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 11:00 a.m. Saturday at the Cathedral with Fr. Brian Belongia officiating. The mass will be livestreamed on Cathedral website sfxcathedralgb.com. Click the video tab on the menu bar. Proko-Wall is assisting the family and online condolences may be sent to www.prokowall.com. The family would like to thank St Vincent’s and their staff for the great care given during his brief stay.
A memorial fund has been established to benefit St. John’s Homeless Shelter.