Obituary of Garold Middlemist

View Video Tribute Garold Cassius Middlemist was born on May 26, 1933 in Denver, Colorado. He was the second born child of Cassius Andrew “Cashâ€? and Emma Elzina (Staples) Middlemist. He is survived by his beloved wife Geraldine, his sister Carol and her husband Ron Gair, brother-in-law Donald Schick, sisters-in-law Charlotte Jones and Shirley Linnebur, her husband Gene, all of his five children, Greg and his wife Debbie, Kathy, Elizabeth and her husband Steve, Theresa and her husband Jess, Andy and fiancée Kim; ten grandchildren and eight great grandchildren. He was proceeded in death by his parents, his step-father Robert Pundt, his oldest sister Beverly Armstrong and one grandchild, Cassandra Geraldine Reed. Gary graduated from Deer Trail High School in 1951. Dribbling the basketball for the Flying Five was a highlight of his high school days. Of particular pride to Gary was the fact that his mother and sisters and all five children graduated from D.H.S. The Korean War was in full swing when the ever patriotic young Garold joined the United Slates Navy. The Navy log of the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation and Heritage Center recorded these facts about Garold’s military service; His significant duty stations were Boot Camp at Camp Elliot, California. His service was upon the USS Mt. Katami, out of Yokosuka, Japan, on which for many months on end Gary was out to sea. He attended Corps school in San Diego, California and served at the Naval Hospital Balboa. For his service to his country, Gary received the Naval Defense Service Medal, the Navy Good Conduct Medal and the Korean Service Medal. He achieved the rank of Hospital Medical Corpsman 3 for his service which spanned four years from October 1951 through October 1955. The spirited young Geraldine Kathryn Schick caught Gary’s eye when they attended community dances at Leader Hall and The VFW in Bennett, Colorado. On May 15, 1953 the young couple wed in Englewood, Colorado. This was a blessed union which encompassed 54 years, 9 months and 7 days. Their family and friends recognize this as a marriage which we would do well to emulate. To this union five children were born. Their first born was a son Gregory Dale followed by their first born daughter Kathryn Gay, these two were at their father’s right hand. Third born was her father’s birthday girl, his peach, Elizabeth Cassius. Next came Theresa Lynn who inherited her Dad’s big heart and with him shared many other attributes. God again graced the family as he sent their fifth child, the second born son Cassius Andrew, to complete the family. Gary worked hard to support his family doing whatever job it took, and he had many jobs. But the lure and call of the land was strong, so the Middlemists always returned to agriculture. Gary and Geraldine felt that ranching and fanning was a great place to raise their family. The Middlemist Family name has been synonymous with ranching in Colorado since the 1870’s Gary has given his family a continuance of that legacy, Gary’s aptitude and passion for his occupation was evident. Gary enjoyed the great outdoors which would explain two of his hobbies, rock collecting and fishing. His many footsteps across his land resulted in an impressive Indian artifact collection. When he came indoors he practiced on his culinary skills, his family benefited from his many gourmet efforts. Creating in the kitchen is another of Gary’s legacies that are being passed down through the generations. Gary served on the Deer Trail School Board when his children were in the school system he belonged to the American Legion, and was a charter member of the Elks Lodge. Gary and Geraldine were members of the Mississippi Baptist Church. The children agree that what they learned at the family supper table, what they gleaned from years of working the land, what they gained from family work together, what their parents taught them was respect. Respect for each other, respect for their fellow man, respect for their family, respect for themselves. They were instilled with this respect by their parents example, and they were also gifted by the passing of a humble sense of gratitude for the Lord’s many gifts. These values are repeated again and again down through the generations As the same noble thoughts, respect and gratitude is evident in the successive generations. Gary’s children, grandchildren and great grandchildren never doubted their worth, were never left to wonder about Gary’s love or pride in them as he did not fail to tell them of their specialness and the importance of family. He always spoke that the most important thing to him was being together as family. To this end the Lord blessed the Patriarch of the Middlemist Clan with his wife, five children, ten precious grandchildren and eight lively great-grandchildren. A funeral service for Garold will be held on Wednesday, February 27, 2008, 11:00 A.M. at the Deer Trail Public School in Deer Trail, CO. Visitation will be held one hour to service. Burial will follow at the Evergreen Cemetery in Deer Trail, CO. Memorials are suggested to the Evergreen Cemetery Association P.O. Box 324 Deer Trail, CO 80105.