Gary James Morton "Garbear" (7/4/1951 – 1/26/2024)

Gary James Morton, affectionately known as "Garbear", age 72, of Newaygo, Michigan was welcomed into the loving arms of his savior, Jesus, on January 26th, 2024.

Gary was born in Taft, California on July 4th, 1951 to parents Terry and Elizabeth Morton. He would be raised in Amarillo, Texas and later move to South Dakota, Iowa, and then Michigan.

He was an avid lover of the outdoors and found his peace when he was on the boat with a pole in his hand and surrounded by good friends and family. He loved cheering on the Detroit Lions and Tigers and you'd usually find him seated beside his wife, Bev, cheering them on on game days. Gary would find many different hobbies over the years and would always be there to support his wife in any and all crafts she would pick up. He was her biggest cheerleader.

Gary was a Vietnam Veteran and was a big advocate for the damage Agent Orange caused him and his brothers in war.

Gary was preceded in death by his parents Terry and Elizabeth Morton, brother Jerry, and grandchildren Tristan Mack, Aleigh Mackenna, and great granddaughter, Serenity Paige.

He is survived by his wife of 20 years, Beverly, daughters Joy (Ken) Lyle, Jaime (Toby) Devenport, Amber (John Knaps) Koch, and Lindsey (Mark Heimbecker) Schader, grandchildren Ashton (Aaron) Vitalec, Paige (Spencer) Stone, Blake Cambron, and BrookLeigh Devenport, and great grandchildren Grayson and Skyla Stone. Gary is also survived by his sister Sherry Morton Maurin, brother Terry (Teresa) Morton, and great friends Cheryl (Mike) DeRoo.

Our family would like to extend a special Thank You to Dr. Tom Ham, the staff at Michigan Veterans Home, the team at Corewell Health Hospice, and special friend, JaShanti "Little Bit".

In lieu of flowers, our family would ask that you donate to Gary's final expenses or 92 for 22, a charity focused on combating veteran suicide and PTSD, something that was close to Gary's heart.

https://www.gofundme.com/f/gary-morton-end-of-life-and-final-expenses-fund?utm_campaign=p_lico+share-sheet-first-launch&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=customer

https://www.92for22.org/

Memorial Service to be held at the Newaygo VFW Post (45 Gene Furgason Ln, Newaygo, MI  49337), Saturday, February 3rd at 11am