Gary A. Cline's Obituary
Gary A. Cline, 79, went home to be with the Lord on May 1, 2017 while residing in Superior, Wisconsin. Gary was born in Exline, Iowa to the late Ogle and Lucile (Osborn) Cline. His beloved sister, Barbara Eddy lives in Centerville, Iowa and he was preceded in death by his first wife, Dixie (Foglesong) Everett; his second wife, "Micki" (Bates) Cline; his brother, Morgan Cline; his brother-in-law, Neal Eddy and his son-in-law, Tony Shelton. Gary attended Exline Elementary School and graduated from Centerville High School in 1955. He received his teaching degree at Truman State University and started his long career as a teacher and coach in What Cheer, Iowa. In Mediapolis, Iowa, he was an assistant girl's high school basketball coach back when it was six-on-six teams and coached at the state tournament twice. He and Dixie raised three girls in Edgewood, Iowa where he spent the majority of his coaching and teaching career at Ed-Co High School. In 1982 he married his second wife, Micki and gladly welcomed two more girls to his family. He and Micki retired in Centerville and eventually moved back to Exline. Despite his long battle with Parkinson's disease, Gary continued to enjoy coaching girl's basketball until 2010. When not teaching or coaching, Gary also was a DJ for various radio stations including: KCOG in Centerville, KOUR in Independence and KMCH in Manchester. He loved the Lord and was an active member of the First Baptist Church in Centerville and enjoyed serving in New Hope Ministries as well. Gary also loved sweets, fishing, Tai Chi, baking cookies and writing short stories. He published his first book in 2012 entitled Time to Reflect. It was a collection of short stories about his childhood memories of growing up in a small town. He was known for his sense of humor; which he shared with all those around him, even to the end of his days. Gary is lovingly survived by his daughters: Terri (Bob) Zimmerman of Superior, Wisconsin, Melissa (Greg) Buchanan of Huntly, Illinois, Annie Cline of Edgewood, Iowa, Christine (Mike) Schlichte of Wausau, Wisconsin and Jennifer Shelton of Cedar Rapids, Iowa; his grandchildren: Morgan and Jack Sannes, Lindsey (Alex) Bowman, Emily Schlichte and Jeff Schlichte, Payton Cline-Cordes and Jordan and Jessica Buchanan as well as two great grandchildren: Brinley and Hank Bowman. He was a kind, gentle and loving family man and friend and we thank the Lord for the time we had with him. Funeral services with be held at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, May 13, 2017 at Thomas Funeral Home in Centerville. Visitation will be held on Friday, May 12, 2017 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. at the funeral home. Entombment will take place at Exline Cemetery with his family. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to a memorial fund established in Gary Cline's name. Online condolences may be left at www.thomasfh.com To send flowers or a memorial gift to the family of Gary A. Cline please visit our Sympathy Store. Cemetery Details Exline Cemetery Exline, IA 52555 Visitation MAY 12. 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM (CDT) Thomas Funeral Home-Centerville 501 North 18th StreetCenterville, IA 52544http://www.thomasfh.com Funeral Service MAY 13. 11:00 AM (CDT) Thomas Funeral Home-Centerville 501 North 18th StreetCenterville, IA 52544http://www.thomasfh.com
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