Gary Baldwin, 69, passed away on April 23, 2021 at Unity Point-Methodist Hospital surrounded by his family. A celebration of everything GOB will be held on Friday, May 7 at the Van Meter Veterans Reception Center, 910 Main Street in Van Meter. The family will begin receiving guests at 5:00 pm and a short eulogy will take place at 6:30 pm. Dinner and beverages will be served throughout the evening. Private burial services will take place at a later date.
Gary was born in Council Bluffs, IA on May 9, 1951; the only child to Austin and Jeannette (Billie) Baldwin. He was raised in Glenwood, IA and graduated with the class of 1969. After graduation he went on to join the basketball team at Northwest Missouri State University where he majored in Industrial Education. After a few years of teaching and coaching, Gary accepted an opportunity to move into the corporate world and started his career at Iowa Power and Light Co/Midwest Power/MidAmerican Energy in the control center then moved to the credit and energy efficiency departments. He stayed there for 24 years and then finished the remainder of his career as a Credit Manager at Wells Fargo. He retired in July of 2014 but that didn’t last long. He worked fun part-time positions for Struthers Brothers Kawasaki, CSC Security and most recently for the City of Van Meter where he happily remained until his death.
Through his Industrial education in college, Gary became very skilled at building/remodeling and was always willing to lend a helping hand to others with little “fix-it” projects. His father owned an electrical company in Omaha, so that skill quickly became second nature to him. He also remained very focused on athletics and coached his kids and their classmates in many sports. He was a founder of the Youth Football League in Van Meter, served as President of the Athletic Boosters and announced the varsity football and basketball games for many years. Anyone who remotely knows Gary knew he was a constant jokester and quick witted. He had a comeback comment for everything and was the king of one liner.
When he had a few minutes of spare time, GOB and his bride would hop on their Harley for short day trips or week-long adventures to Sturgis, SD for the annual rally (25 times). He loved being out and about in his neighborhood visiting, hosting annual progressive dinners, puttering in the yard, collecting coins, researching family genealogy and was an NCIS TV series junkie.
Those left broken hearted by his passing way too soon are his “bride” of 34 years, Rhonda Davis-Baldwin, sons Casey (Kelly) Baldwin of Perry, Tab (fiancé Jade Peters) of Des Moines and daughter Toni (Jose) Gonzalez of Van Meter. In addition, he is survived by his deeply loved grandbabies who call him “Papa B,” Reagan, Declan, Tenley, Gibson and Ellie as well as his uncle Royce Garrett of Crofton, NE and sister-in-law Cathy Davis (Doug King) and niece Rebeque of Urbandale. Gary will be missed by so many friends and extended family. He was one of those guys where you couldn’t go anywhere without running into someone he knew.
GOB’s immediate family would like to thank all family and friends from near and far for your prayers, get well wishes and for continuing to lift us up during this very difficult time. Memorial donations may be directed to the Van Meter Community School’s Industrial Technology Department in care of E-Bank, 475 Mill Street, Van Meter, IA 50261.
