Obituary of Gary Joseph Arnusch

ARNUSCH - Gary passed away on December 30, 2006 at the age of 59 after a short illness. Gary "Jake was preceded in death by his father John. Surviving are his mother Kathleen, wife Lynda, daughters Joelle (Robert), Michelle, and stepson Jereme (Charity), brother Gerald (Lilyan), sisters Elaine (Alonso) and Kathy (John), nieces and nephews Amy, Daniel, April, Ben, Jill (Paul), J.J. (Natalie) and their children. Uncle "Groovy will be missed. At Garys request there will be no funeral. He would prefer that his family and friends simply listen to a favourite piece of music and remember some good times. Hed suggest drummers such as Art Blakey, Max Roach, Philly Joe Jones, Elvin Jones, Tony Williams, Peter Erskine or other jazz greats. Gary was a finishing carpenter who strove for excellence in all his work. Over the past few years he spent many enjoyable hours bantering and bartering with his friends in the numismatics community, but his biggest passion was drumming with musician friends too numerous to mention. Jake played his first cash gig with his dad in the RCMP big band when he was 12. That gave him a taste of the good times ahead. He went on to play with the Checkerlads, Flying Colours, Airborne, and he was a driving force in the rhythm section for hundreds of jazz gigs. He had a particular fondness for great bass players and late night sessions at Arts. Garys family is consoled by the fact that he had a wonderful holiday in New York in September where he saw Branford Marsalliss band and had his mind blown by drummer Jeff "Tain Watts. He also enjoyed a special evening with some of Cubas finest percussionists. Garys family would like to say a heartfelt thank you to Dr. Rayson for her compassion, wisdom and spiritual strength. We would also like to thank the other marvelous doctors and staff in the Palliative Care Unit of the Allan Blair Cancer Centre, especially Dr. Raysons nurse, Helen. You are truly inspiring people. Wed also like to thank Elaine for tackling difficult tasks and supporting Gary throughout his medical appointments. And we especially want to thank Joelle, her loving partner Robert, and Michelle for enabling Gary to pass away at home surrounded by great music and much love. In lieu of flowers, donations could be made to the Palliative Care Unit, Pasqua Hospital, 4101 Dewdney Avenue, Regina, SK S4T 1A5 or the Canadian Diabetes Association, Saskatchewan Chapter, 917A Albert Street, Regina, SK S4R 2P6.