Gary Dee Carnes passed from this life at the age of 86 on October 31,2019 at the Porta Caeli Hospice House in Tulsa, OK.
Gary was born August 22, 1933 in Coffeyville, KS the second son of Viro and Reva (Stewart) Carnes. Until the age of 6 he lived with his parents and brother on an oil lease in Montgomery County, KS, where he liked to say he started his country roots. In 1939 they moved to a small farm on the west side of Tyro, KS, where he lived until his high school graduation from Field Kindley High School , Coffeyville, KS in May 1951. Later in 1951 he married Pat Rogers and they later divorced.
In 1953 he was drafted into the Army. He served in the Korean Conflict near the DMZ as a helicopter mechanic until he was honorably discharged in 1954.
After discharge from the Army he worked for Phillips Petroleum Company in Midland, TX as a draftsman and a right of way clerk. He met his future wife, Wanda Nell Lindsey and they were married in 1955 in Iraan, TX. He decided to advance his career by going back to school attending Odessa, TX Junior College and graduating. After a career move to Amarillo, TX he enrolled in West Texas College in Canyon, TX graduating with a major in history and a minor in business in 1967.
In 1969 he moved his family to Tulsa, OK where he worked for Mid-America Pipeline Co., later named MAPCO until he retired in 1995.
Gary loved traveling to Colorado and shared that love with his family. Never a person to sit around, he enjoyed many hobbies over his lifetime. Those included duck hunting, fishing, metal detecting, leather working, photography, and genealogy.
At the time of his death he was a member of three metal detecting clubs: ITTHC, Tulsey Town, and Three Forks in Muskogee, OK. He was also a member of the Madison County, AR Genealogical Society.
He was preceded in death by his wife , Wanda (Lindsey) Carnes, his parents, Viro and Reva Carnes, and his brother Elton Gene Carnes.
He is survived by four children: Debra (Barnett) Newton of Bartlesville, OK,; Russell Carnes and his wife Cathy of Park Hill, OK; Chrissey (Carnes) Davis and her husband Chris of Broken Arrow, OK; and Cheryl (Carnes) Willis and her husband Todd of Nashville, TN; six grandchildren; and five great-grandchildren. He is also survived by a sister, Kathy (Carnes) DeCoursey and her husband John of Tulsa, OK, and many cousins, nieces and nephews, which he connected with over Facebook.
He was a great friend to many, a gentleman, a hard worker, and loved his family fiercely.
A celebration of his life will take place Saturday, November 9, 2019, 2 p.m. at Fitzgerald Southwood, 3612 E. 91st , Tulsa, OK. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Porta Caeli Hospice House.