Gary Alan Stokes

Gary Alan Stokes was born in Terre Haute, Indiana, in 1947. Growing up in Indiana, Gary was the only boy in a family of four children. He relished teasing his three sisters but also fiercely protected them. After graduating from Honey Creek High School, Gary unwisely found himself in front of a judge on a DUI charge. Gary was not the driver, but the judge made no distinction between the driver and his passengers. He offered Gary a choice: incarceration or enlistment. Gary chose wisely and joined the Navy, applying his clever mind to the intelligence branch. He trained in Pensacola, FL and became an expert Mores code interpreter. The Navy took him to Florida, the Mediterranean and Panama. Gary was honorably discharged from the Navy in 1968 and returned to Indiana. He started a family in Indianapolis, assuming responsibility for two young boys, Billy McColley and Bobby Stock, and had two more children- Cynthia, or as he called her, Cinder and Gary, Jr. After his marriage failed in 1974, he left Indiana, moved to West Texas and began working for his uncle in the oil fields. Gary met Jinx, his wife of 45 years, in Odessa, Texas, and they married in 1978. Jinx came into the marriage with C�Zanne, Edward and Misty. When Gary gained custody of Cinder and Gary Jr., they became a large, blended family. Shortly after he and Jinx married, Gary started his own construction company as a residential and commercial contractor in West Texas. He built many beautiful homes and took great pride in his work. Later in life, he spent a few years as an insurance claims adjuster dealing with claims resulting from natural disasters. That job required long periods of out-of- state travel and after a few years, Gary decided to devote his time doing what he loved: residential remodeling, woodworking, deer hunting, fishing, and songwriting. Over the years, Gary opened his home to innumerable people not related to him, by marriage or by blood, and made them his own. The friends of his children and grandchildren all came to call him "Daddy" or "Grandpa" and knew if they needed him, he was only a phone call away. His heart was as big as Texas, so it's good he ended up here. Preceding him in death are Gary's parents, William J. Stokes and Ella Brown, his daughter Misty Tindol, and his son Bobby Stock. Gary is survived by his wife, Jinx Stokes, his children Edward Tindol, C�Zanne Tindol, Billy McColley, Cinder Hayden, and Gary Stokes Jr., as well as innumerable grandchildren and great grandchildren. He is also survived by his three sisters, Beverly Corso, Sharon Hoctor, and Joyce Jones. Services will be held Thursday, December 21, 2023, at 2:00 pm, at American Heritage Funeral Home and Crematory, 4100 FM 1788, Midland, Texas. Reception to follow.

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Gary Alan Stokes

September 8, 1947 - December 15, 2023