Gary Lars Lundquist

Gary Lars Lundquist, age 59, passed into eternity while at home in Milwaukie, OR on Monday February 5, 2024 after a long struggle with melanoma. 

Gary was born in Boston, MA on June 1, 1964 to Charles A. Lundquist and Patricia J. Lundquist (nee’ Richardson). In 1973 the family moved to Huntsville AL, where Gary spent much of his childhood tagging along on the adventures of his father and older brother, who were spelunking (caving) enthusiasts.  He attended Huntsville High School and played trombone in the marching band.  He graduated in 1982.

At age 18, he chose a new solo adventure of going back to New England, and he enrolled at Boston University.  He paused his college career in 1984 to work as a docent at the brand-new Computer Museum on the Wharf in Boston for over two years, a job he adored.  He then resumed his studies at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and he finished up his BA in Mathematics at UMass Boston in 1988.

Gary’s first job out of college was teaching math to high schoolers at Montclair Academy in New Jersey.  He then chose jobs in the machining and manufacturing industries, developing an interest in the process of production.  He landed back in Alabama in 1991 and went to work for Summa Technology, a supplier to NASA’s space shuttle program.

In the summer of 1996, Gary found himself in the middle of a huge crowd at a music festival in Illinois, standing near a girl he thought he recognized from college.  He tapped her on the shoulder – and sure enough, it was his friend Kathleen, with whom he had attended Park Street Church in Boston in the 1980s.  They rekindled their friendship and were married in Portland, OR on November 1, 1997.

Gary then embarked on a 20+-year career at Boeing Portland in Gresham OR, manufacturing parts for assembly into commercial airliners.  His coworkers valued his ‘big picture’ point of view on the many processes involved.  He was a member of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace (SPEEA) and the American Production and Inventory Control Society (APICS).

Gary was an avid reader and had wide-ranging interests.  He collected several types of items including books, graphic novels/comic books, music CDs, vinyl records, and jigsaw puzzles.  He enjoyed fine dining, going to movies, and exploring the highways (and roadside attractions!) in his adopted home state of Oregon.  He was received into the Catholic Church in 1999 and was a parishioner at St. Agatha Catholic Church in the Sellwood neighborhood.  

Gary is survived by his wife Kathleen and his four older siblings: Clara Perkins, Dawn Lee (Robert), Eric Lundquist, and Frances Lundquist; nephew Chris Lee (Kati Wilson); and niece Danielle Smith (Marshall) and their sons Corgan and Keelan.  He was preceded in death by his father Charles Lundquist and mother Patricia Lundquist.

A Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Tuesday, February 20 at 11am at St. Agatha Catholic Church, 1430 SE Nehalem St. in Portland.  A vigil gathering and service will be held at Gethsemani Catholic Funeral Home, 11666 SE Stevens Rd. in Happy Valley on Monday, February 19 beginning at 1:30pm.  A memorial gathering will take place in Huntsville, AL at a later date.  

Arrangements by Gethsemani.  In lieu of flowers, please make a donation to the Clackamas County Library (www.lincc.org) or your local library system.