Obituary of Gary Richard Speiss

GARY RICHARD SPEISS Gary Speiss, a Vancouver resident, died Sunday June 27th, in Vancouver. He was 57. Mr. Speiss was born October 25, 1946 in St. Peter, Minnesota to Myrtle Martin and Laurance Speiss. He grew up in Minnesota and worked on the farm there. He then worked for ADC - a data business - for several years. He started his own wire business and invented a machine to strip and cut wire. He met his wife, Melissa Brekke, in St. Peter and they moved to Oklahoma in the early 1980?s. They came to this area in 1988. He worked construction for Nutter Underground and in 1992 he started his own business, Gary?s Machine. Gary loved classic cars, buying them and working on them. But his main love, after his family, was his shop. Mr. Speiss is survived by his wife, Melissa in Vancouver; sons Richard Speiss of Vancouver and Scott Speiss of Jordan, Minn.; daughters Christine Stahnke of Lucama, North Carolina and Shelley Speiss of Vancouver; brothers Earl Speiss of Nicollet, Minn. And Jim Speiss of St. Peter, Minn.; sister Joy Melvin of Mankato, Minn.; 5 grandchildren and 1 great grandson. Memorial services will be Friday, July 2, 2004 at 12:30PM at Memorial Gardens Funeral Chapel in Vancouver under the direction of Straub?s Funeral Home. Inurnment will be in Green Lawn Cemetery in Minnesota at a later date. The family suggests remembrances be made to Shriners Hospital for Crippled Children, 3101 SW Sam Jackson Park Road, Portland, OR 97201. To send condolences to the family or sign the online guest book, please visit www.straubsfuneralhome.com. Straub?s Funeral Home in Camas is in charge of arrangements.