Gary Willoughby Bland

Gary Bland, age 77, passed away peacefully at home in Bellingham on July 9, 2017. Gary was born May 18, 1940 in Bellingham to Clyde and Juliet (Willoughby) Bland. As a youngster Gary worked as a caddie at Bellingham Golf and Country Club and in high school continued working there on the night watermen crew. After graduating from high school in 1958 he worked for a short time at Boeing and then spent 40 years at Georgia Pacific as a Pipefitter where he formed many lifetime friendships. In 1965 he married Patricia Hanson and together with their son Tory enjoyed camping, boating, fishing, slow pitch baseball, motor cycling, and traveling to the warm beaches of Hawaii. He took great pleasure and pride in encouraging and supporting his son in his athletic endeavors. In later years Gary continued to mentor many young people in fishing, golf, and life. For several years he volunteered to assist his good friend in coaching the Lynden High School golf teams. Gary and Pat also loved traveling around the US supporting the WWU golf teams. Gary has been a member of BGCC since 1983 and had great fondness for the course that he worked at so many years ago. In his retirement years he continued to volunteer on large and small projects for the betterment of the club. But his greatest passion was fishing in the salt water, rivers and lakes, and in recent years he added fly fishing to his list of ways to enjoy being on the water. He was a good man, beloved by many. He was preceded in death by his parents. Gary is survived by Pat, his wife of 51 years, son Tory, brother Jim, and many loving relatives and friends. A Celebration of Gary’s life will be held at the Bellingham Golf and Country Club on Friday, July 21st at 2 pm. Please dress casually and bring a story of Gary to share. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to a charity of your choice. You may share memories at www.westfordfuneralhome.com .