Gary John Redel, 68

On Monday, March 2nd, 2015, Gary John Redel died of natural causes at his Hayden, Idaho, home. Gary was the eldest of six boys born July 18th, 1946, to the late Clem and Rita Redel of St. Louis, Missouri. Gary will be forever remembered by his three daughters and seven grandchildren: Andrea Peters and her husband Tim (son Dylan); Angela Redel-Gomez and her husband Daniel (daughters Eden, Olivia, Ava and Lola); and Kelsey Woster and her husband Aaron (daughter Chloe and son Samuel); his five brothers (Rich, Lee, Kenny, Ed and Jamie); along with countless other friends and family whom were blessed to know him.

Gary lived a full and decorated life. In May of 1964 Gary graduated from high school, immediately joined the U.S. Marine Corp and volunteered for duty in Vietnam. He served in the Marines from 1964-1968 where he was promoted to Sergeant and was awarded many commendations and medals for his service, including the Combat Air Crewmember wings; a Rifle Experts Badge and a Purple Heart. When Gary returned from Vietnam he was stationed at Camp Pendleton where he met his first love, Bernadene Holland, a local southern California girl. They married in September of 1967 and had two little girls, Andrea and Angela. He joined the LAPD in 1968 and worked his way to Detective II working Robbery/Homicide, Narcotics and 'B.A.D C.A.T' squad. Gary was remarried to Cheryll Ferguson in February of 1980 and had his 3rd daughter, Kelsey.

Gary retired from the LAPD in 1989 and relocated to Oregon with Cheryll and Kelsey. He kept busy with his job with the NICB (National Insurance Crime Bureau) which later brought him to Hayden, Idaho. Gary loved the area and found the space to enjoy his 'toys' (ATV, Boat, Motorcycle, etc.). Gary was always very active and had a love of many things: He enjoyed fishing and hunting with his buddies, he loved riding motorcycles, he loved watching Nascar (when he was too old to drive demolition derby cars), he loved restoring old Fords (relentlessly being teased by his daughters about all of his 'junk'), he loved guns and was a supporter of the NRA (another hot topic with his daughters), he loved visiting his daughters and grandchildren, and being given a laundry list of 'honey-dos' (clearly not being done by their own husbands), he loved the St. Louis Cardinals, but most of all he loved the art of conversation. Gary touched the lives of many people with his smile, generosity, his trademark sense of humor and his loyalty.

Friends and family are invited to attend a memorial service and celebration of his life on Saturday, March 28th at 11 a.m. at the Yates Funeral Home - Hayden Chapel, 373 E. Hayden Ave., Hayden, Idaho. The service will be immediately followed by a reception for lunch and drinks.

A second service with military honors will be held on April 10th at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery (2900 Sheridan Road, St. Louis, MO 63125 - 314-845-8320 ). Military honors begin promptly at 2 p.m.

Memorial donations in memory of Gary can be made to Toys for Tots (by mail or online). Go to: http://www.toysfortots.org/donate/

Please visit Gary's online memorial and sign his guestbook at www.yatesfuneralhomes.com.