Loss of a friend and fellow gpf member

[BabyBlue]

I am still reeling from what unfolded yesterday. Yesterday I lost a truly dear friend, Gary Hancock. You might have known him as a member here. His user name was gtaz1469. He is also a member of KCPMC as the user name GTPMAN. You may also know him as Kelly's husband, she is FireRedVelvet here at gpf. Gary lived here in Odessa, MO. I considered him one of my closest friends.

Gary passed away yesterday very unexpectedly from what we believe was a heart attack. The paramedics worked very hard to try and save him on the way to St. Mary's hospital in Blue Springs, MO but later came out to tell Kelly and I, that there was nothing else they could do for him. He was only 38 years old.

He will be deeply missed by many of us and please keep Kelly and the rest of his family in your prayers.

[minichopper6hp]

Sorry to hear that

[tylerbinski]

my condolences to family and friends.

[UR LOSN]

I am very sorry to hear.

[BwolfGT]

Really sorry to hear that, sounds like the same thing that happened to my dad.
My condolences to his friends, and especially his wife and children.

[speedemongtp]

Wow sorry to hear that. I send my condolences as well.

[Lion29GTP]

Sorry for your Lost.

[blueguy]

Thanks for posting Mystie...I was going to post up about it here until I saw yours.

Still trying to cope with this...

[Iron Indian]

DAMN!! Your kidding??? I remember talking to him, both of them at the last Branson meet. I think I remember him mentioning back problems otherwise he seemed really health. Nice guy... jeeze this is a shocker! Wow.

RIP Gary, damn.........

[GTPJOE90]

i dont know of this memeber but my thoughts go out to his friends and family RIP GARY

[Abrasive]

Thanks Mystie and to those who posted or may have just kept Gary in their thoughts. Gary was a very very close friend of mine and he had been at my house the Saturday and Sunday before he passed away on Monday. We have been trying to do all we can for his wife Kelly who is also a member at KCPMC. They each had their own Grand Prix's and some of you may remember Gary and Kelly from Branson '08 where they had Kelly's 2000 Redfire Metallic. Gary took second place in the bracket racing there in Kelly's car.

As my wife mentioned, Gary was only 38 years old. I am asking that everyone who works out in the heat to be very careful. He got overheated which led to heat stroke, which then led to a heart attack that ultimately took his life.

Godspeed my friend. You are missed dearly.

[Reptile]

Man this sucks.......

I just can't seem to get in my groove anymore. I'm gonna miss the guy and everything he's done for me to help me when I needed it.

[GR8racingfool]

I am going to miss Gary as well, he was a really great guy for sure. Still in shock myself too, last time I saw and talked to him was Curtis's wedding.

~F~

[Rocket468]

Sorry to hear.

[Iron Indian]

As my wife mentioned, Gary was only 38 years old. I am asking that everyone who works out in the heat to be very careful. He got overheated which led to heat stroke, which then led to a heart attack that ultimately took his life.

I had a similiar situation happen to me about 3 weeks ago. I had mowed the lawn one sunday afternoon in the heat, and didn't drink any water. The next day at work, I was fine until about 3pm and then all of a sudden I went downhill. It started with feeling dizzy and being light headed. I kept on working, even though I work in a shop with no a/c and fans that aren't worth a ****. Around 4:30, I started to throwup. I called my wife to come and get me and the car, since I knew I couldn't drive. She insisted on taking me to the ER because I was out of it, not coherent, and could barely walk. The ER took my vitals and rushed me right back to a room and hooked me up to a heart monitor. I was there around 6 hours with them monitoring my heart, pumping me full of fluids(2 bags), and some other medicine. THe doctor said it was definently heat exhaustion and more than likely a heat stroke but she said they weren't going to do the extensive tests to find out definite because of my age. I have a history of high blood pressure and after this incident it scared me, especially since I have a son on the way. Those of you who work in the heat or are just in the heat for a little while. Drink lots of water and gatorade, its not worth losing your life or getting really sick.

I usually don't like sharing stories about myself like this bc i don't want to look like a ***** but I figured this was worth sharing seeing what happened here and I had a firsthand experience unfortunantely.

[minichopper6hp]

Knowledge is power... and alot of people dont know or ignore this kind of thing and look where they end up. When i worked at my previous job, was in the damn heat all day in the middle of summer inside a sub station, about the hottest place you can be... filled with steel/aluminum and white rock reflecting the sun onto you, workin in a lift. Drank LOTS of water, and water only.