Gary Bashara, 56, of Waco, died Monday, November 20, 2017.
Reception: 12:00 noon Tuesday, November 28, 2017 in the Parish Hall at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church
Funeral Service: 1:00 p.m. Tuesday, November 28, 2017 at St.Paul’s Episcopal Church with The Reverend Raymond Joe Waldon and The Reverend Sharron Cox officiating
Burial: Private family burial service at Rosemound Cemetery following the funeral service
Gary was born July 12, 1961 in Waco to Mary Anne and Edward G. Bashara. He attended St. Paul’s Day School and through WISD graduated from Richfield High School. He went on to obtain an Associate of Applied Science Degree from then Texas State Technical Institute in Aircraft Pilot Training Technology. He became a flight instructor in the early days of his flying career going on to fly for UPS, Piedmont Commuter, American Eagle and AeroCare before entering the corporate aviation industry with Jet East in Dallas. For the last 18 years, he has flown corporate jets for FlexJet, a fractional jet ownership company and for much of that time was captain on a Challenger 300 aircraft.
His office was at 45,000 feet which gave Gary the opportunity to take in many beautiful vistas as he logged more than 14,000 hours during his 34 year career. Gary marveled at God’s creation from a vantage point few people have the opportunity to experience. He always furthered his knowledge and skills by attending regular industry training sessions.
Gary married Mary Elizabeth Horne of Norton, Virginia on August 19, 1989 at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Waco. His flying career took them to Bloomington, Indiana, Dallas and Lubbock before returning to Waco in 1994. Their lives were blessed by the birth of their precious daughters Meagan Elizabeth and Lauren Adele and being able to build their family life at home in Waco. Gary was a loving husband and father and was so very proud of his girls, Meagan and Lauren, as he watched them grow into the beautiful and talented young women they are today.
Gary’s love of nature and animals showed in everything he did, from landscaping his home, bird watching, and spending time with his beloved dogs, Smudgey, Mischa, Buddy and now, Samson. He also had a great love of all water sports including boating and skiing, with a special interest in scuba diving, being a certified open water diver for many years. His interest and love of music was always evident and started early on, having been very involved in the band programs in school as an accomplished clarinetist and saxophonist. And it made him very happy to support and encourage the musical life of his wife as a professional pianist and to see his interests come full circle in the musical talent and accomplishments of his daughters.
He is survived by his wife, Mary Elizabeth Horne Bashara; daughters, Meagan Elizabeth and Lauren Adele; mother and father, Mary Anne and Edward G. Bashara; brother, Greg Bashara; brother-in-laws, Stephen Horne of Roanoke, VA; Hoke Horne and wife, Andrea and daughter, Erica of Mountain View, CA; David Horne and wife, Tanya and children, Olivia, Atticus, Phoebe and Helen of West Orange, NJ; sister-in-law, Beverly Horne O’Connell and husband, Dan and children Alanna, Kimberly and Erin of San Antonio; cousins, Mark Nalley and wife, Karen and son, Mark Alan of Belton; Suzanne Merritt and husband, Nelson of Houston, son, Christopher and wife, Courtney, son, Hunter and daughter, Skylar of Rogers; son, Brice and fiancé, Dominique and daughter, Naomi of Riverside, CA; Dick Weisberg and wife, Lynn of Issaquah, WA; Mick Weisberg of Dallas; Brenda Kanuch and husband, Tom of Dallas; and Doug Bashara of Colorado.
The family wishes to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to The Rev. Sharron Cox, Lanny Nye, The Rev. Raymond Waldon and Bill Coleman for your immeasurable love, compassion and help.
Honorary pallbearers will be Mark Nalley, Mark Alan Nalley, Nelson Merritt, Christopher Merritt, Brice Merritt, Stephen Horne, Hoke Horne and David Horne.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorials be made to St. Paul’s Episcopal Church or to St. Paul’s Day School of Waco.
Lake Shore Funeral Home & Cremation Services
Place of Service: St. Paul Episcopal Church , 515 Columbus Ave.; Waco, TX 76701
Print Obituary & Condolences
We are so very sorry , our prayers are with your family.
Love,
Jay and Laura Lankford and Marcheta Langford
Thank you so much, Laura, Jay, and Marcheta. Our hearts are broken. Please keep our family in your prayers. We know Gary is at peace with God.
Love, Mary
Thank you, Gordon and Susan. We are at a very sad place with the loss of our Gary. Please keep us in your prayers. He is in the arms of God, and we’re thankful for that comfort.
Love,
Mary, Meagan, & Lauren
We are so sorry for your loss of Gary. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all through this difficult time.
Gordon and Susan Swanson
Dear Gordon & Susan,
I wanted to make sure you saw my reply. For some reason, the 1st one attached to the condolence message above yours. Thank you, Susan, for being there on Tuesday and your warm hug. Please keep the girls & I in your prayers; We have a long and hard road ahead of us. God’s mercy and grace, along with love and prayers from dear family and friends will help us, each and every day.
Love,
Mary, Meagan, & Lauren
I am so sorry to learn of Gary’s passing. Please know, Greg and family, my sincere thoughts and condolences are with you.
Thank you for your kind message of comfort, Dale. Please keep our family in your prayers. We’re heartbroken, but know Gary is in the arms of our Lord and Savior.
Sincerely,
Mary Bashara
I’m sorry for your loss. Saying prayers for your family.
Thank you, Mark. We appreciate your kind message and prayers. We’re heartbroken over the loss of our Gary. It ‘s a very sad time for our whole family. We take comfort in knowing that he is with God in heaven.
Sincerely,
Mary Bashara
I am very shocked and saddened to hear about Gary’s passing . We were friends as kids and teens as well as neighbors . My very sincerest condolences .
Thank you, Leea, for your kind message and condolences. The girls & i are heartbroken at the loss of our sweet Gary. Please keep us in your prayers. I know Gary is sitting at the right hand of God, and that gives me a measure of peace.
Sincerely,
Mary, Meagan, & Lauren Bashara
God bless Gary’s family at this trying time. You have my deepest condolences.
Thank you, David, for your kind message. The girls & I are truly heartbroken at the loss of our sweet Gary. Please keep us in your prayers. Gary was much loved, and we know he is sitting at the right hand of God, and watching over us.
Sincerely,
Mary, Meagan, & Lauren Bashara
So sad to hear this, I had an opportunity to fly with Gary a few years ago and really enjoyed his company. My thoughts are with you and your family.
Thank you, Jason, for your kind message. Reading what Gary’s fellow FlexJet pilot are saying about him, is truly giving comfort to the girls & I. He loved to be in the blue skies, and had a special gift for flying. Please keep us in your prayers; we have a long and hard road ahead. God’s grace & mercy will be there, all along the way.
Sincerely,
Mary, Meagan, & Lauren Bashara
Gary will be missed. Prayers for the family.
Thank you, Gregg. I appreciate your kind words and prayers. Gary was very loved and will be missed; the girls & I are heartbroken. God’s grace & mercy will see us through, I pray.
Sincerely,
Mary, Meagan, & Lauren Bashara
So much love for your family and the very passionate and wonderful Mary Bashara.
Julianne Best & family
Your prayers and love have meant so much to us, Julianne. You’re a dear friend.
Love,
Mary
Please accept my condolence on the loss of Gary. I had the pleasure of working with him at Flexjet and he will be missed. Our thoughts and prayers are with your family.
Dear Rick,
Thank you so much for your prayers and kind words about Gary. It has meant so much to me to read what Gary’s fellow FlexJet pilots have said about him. Your words give me comfort. Please keep Meagan, Lauren, & I in your prayers.
Sincerely,
Mary Bashara
Mary, Megan and Lauren,
We send our deepest condolences to each one of you and to Greg and Garry’s mom. You all have been such sweet and kind friends and it is always a joy when we see each other. We send our prayers and love and we ask God to hold and carry you through this loss now and in the future.
May God Bless you always,
Your friends
Yvonne, Fernando and Analisa Villarreal
Dearest Yvonne, Fernando, & Analisa,
Thank you for your kind thoughts about our Gary, and also your prayers. It was special to see you at his service. You were special to him, as you are to the girls & I. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.
Love, Mary
I was saddened to hear of the loss of Gary. We shared the cockpit a number of times. He was an accomplished aviator and I always looked forward to our times together. It was a pleasure to know him. We will keep Gary and his family in our prayers.
Dear Wayne,
Thank you for your kind words about Gary; they truly mean so much to us. Please continue to keep Meagan, Lauren, & I in your prayers.
Sincerely,
Mary Bashara
I’m sorry to hear about the loss of Gary. I shared the cockpit with him many times at Flexjet. I always looked forward to spending time with him at work. He will be missed. My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family during this time.
May God bless you.
Mike and Kim Spencer
Dear Mike,
Thank you for sending this kind condolence message to us. It has meant so much to read the words of Gary’s fellow FlexJet pilots. Flying meant the world to him; being at 40,000 feet and looking at God’s beautiful sky was so special to Gary. Please keep Meagan, Lauren, & I in your prayers.
God bless,
Mary Bashara
So saddened to hear of Gary’s passing. Was a neighbor and good friend of our family growing up. Our prayers are with the Bashara family.
Dear Gavin,
Thank you for your kind message of condolence. We’re heartbroken over the loss of our Gary. I remember your sweet family well. Please keep Meagan, Lauren, & I in your prayers.
Love,
Mary Bashara
Greg I’m very sorry to hear about the passing of your brother. My prayers are with your family.
Dear Tracie,
I’ll be sure that Greg knows about your message. Thank you for your kind words; we’re heartbroken over the loss of our Gary. Please keep our family in your prayers.
Sincerely,
Mary Bashara
So sad to hear about Gary. I absolutely loved flying with him. Very professional and fun to work with. On the ground he was a great guy and a pleasure to be with. Gary was the type of guy you could shoot the breeze with him all day and all night the first time you met him, he was the guy everyone liked. He always spoke so highly of his family and was expecially proud of his girls. The Flexjet family lost a stand up guy, his family lost so much more. Safe travels west my friend, your family will be in my thoughts and prayers, and you will be missed by so many.
Dear Scott,
Thank you for your beautiful message of condolence. I’ve read it so many times, and it gives me comfort. Your describe the Gary I know so well, and also from a fellow pilot’s point of view. I can’t tell you how special your words are to me and our girls. Please keep Meagan, Lauren, & I in your prayers.
God bless,
Mary Bashara
I am so shocked and saddened to hear of Gary’s passing. I have known he and his family my whole life as we lived next door when I moved to Waco. Gary was always a good friend. My love and prayers go out to Mary Anne, Ed and Greg and to Gary’s wife and children. Much love.
So saddened by Gary passing. I shared the flight deck with Gary. I flew with him in challenger 300. He was a great aviator. He loved God and his family. He always spoke about his daughters. I loved Gary like my brother I will miss him. My thoughts and prayers are with his family.
May our Lord Jesus Christ give you peace.
Sam and Brenda Lal
Maryann,
So sorry to hear about gary. My condolences!
Please accept my sincere condolences. I was very saddened to hear of Gary’s passing. Like many others, I had the pleasure of flying with Gary at Flexjet. He always had a smile of his face and was a pleasure to work with. He will sorely be missed. My thoughts and prayers will be with your family.
So sadned to hear of Gary’s passing. Gary is a great aviator and enjoyed spending time with him on many different trips. Gary loved God and his family. Gary will be missed. I am so sorry for your loss. I will continue to pray of peace and comfort from the Lord to Bashara family.
May God give you peace at this time.
Sam Lal
I am honored and blessed to have known Gary. He was truly a blessing to so many of us Pilots that worked with him at FlexJet, and I will miss him. My condolences. Your Family will be in our prayers.
Very sorry to hear of Gary’s passing. I flew with Gary a few times at Flexjet. Great guy! Great PILOT!
Jim Davis
Thanks, Gary for the times we spent flying together. Your family is in our prayers. I always learned something whenever I spent time with you. May you forever rest in God’s eternal glory.
I’m deeply saddened to hear of the loss of an old friend. I got to know and became friends with Gary back in the 90’s when we were both flying twin Cessnas for different companies. Not too long after I went to work at Flexjet, I recommended and helped Gary get on there as well. I was always proud of that. Gary always spoke proudly of his wife and girls. You will be missed my friend. May Gods infinite peace and love be with your family.
Mary, Meagan, and Lauren, our family is so deeply sorry for your loss and we are praying hard for each of you, God will see you through this and you are each very strong, loving, beautiful women. We are here for you if you need ANYTHING. We love you, Alli, Kristy, Larry and Josh
I always liked Gary. Him and Brad McLeod were good buddies growing up off of Lake Air Dr. He was a good guy. Now him and Brad are getting caught up in Heaven. May God Bless this family!
My heart and many prayers go out to you Mary and your girls! I started going to school with Gary in the 6th grade. We were good buddies in high school, we helped each other through history class. My mom is very sadden by his passing too, She remembers his smiling face as well. I have been praying for you and your daughters since I heard he had passed on to his next phase of his existence. I am also praying for Mr. and Mrs. Bashara as well as Greg, I know that are just heart broken. God will give you the strength to carry on just I’ve all your faith to him. May the lord always be with you and your girls.
Betsy Buchanan Vandever
Mary,
My deepest prayers and thoughts are with you, the girls and Mr, and Mrs Bashara.
Gary was one of the best musicians I enjoyed watching in the Richfield Band.
He was sooo lucky to have you and the girls.
He is at peace now. Thinking of you during this time. Keep the faith.
Lisa Saxenian
Dear Mary, Megan and Lauren,
I was so very sad to read the horrible news of the passing of Gary. May God’s love and peace bring you rest and comfort in the coming weeks and months. We are so very sorry for this unimaginable loss.
Love and prayers,
John, Beverly,
Sarah, Scott and Katherine Shultz
I’m very sorry for your loss. We will pray for Gary, you and your family.
I met Gary when I started at Flexjet in 2005. We became friends and visited whenever our paths crossed. It was always a quality visit and I am a better person as a result of his friendship. We flew together a few times which was always a joy. Our talks would center around family and all that means for our lives. I can only imagine your pain. I am deeply shocked and praying for all his friends and loved ones. Please don’t allow this loss to cause you to doubt your faith. Consider yourself blessed for the time you had with him, I know I was.
I was very saddened to hear of Gary’s passing. It was always a pleasure to work with him these past 11 years.
My heartfelt condolences to all.
I understand there is no words to express what you each feel . I will say I was so thankful to be able to work with Gary with his out patient therapy, we spoke a lot of how much he loved his family. I would love to meet these precious girls and be a heart to listen and encourage in anyway May the Lord give you each His comfort and love in the days to come in Jesus name . I love you all
It’s with great sadness I send this condolence to the Bashara Family. At a time like this it is impossible to convey comfort but please know my thoughts and prayers are with you. Sincerely,
Bob Scott
Mary, you and your beautiful girls are in our thoughts and prayers. We are thinking of all the Bashara family during this most difficult time. May God bless you all and give you strength and comfort.
Staci and Steve Dalton
We are so very sorry for your loss. Please know you are in our thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.
Dear Mary,Megan,Lauren and Family,
Our deepest condolences on your loss of Gary. We will always miss Gary’s bright Shinning smile and his kind hearted soul .
May God comfort and hold you close during these difficult days . We will continue to pray for you and the family.
Our Love,
Kerri Leutholtz Morgan, Ethan and Zoey Leutholtz
So, so sorry for your loss, our loss, we have lost a great friend. Almost flew together but flight canceled. Always chatted about flying and life in general. I, we will miss you Gary my friend.
Mary,
Ray, Amanda and I are so sorry for your loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Love,
Jennifer Kampermann
I’m sorry to hear about Gary it shocked me my prayers go out to you and his family I still remember when I was in 7th grade with him I sit behind him in 7th grade English class and I remember him telling me I had pretty eyes I thought that was the sweetest thing he could have ever said to me your son was a very blessed man apparently God needed a pilot up in heaven maybe he’s going to take over the plane that brings all the souls to heaven again my heart goes out to you and his family I know it was such a shock it was to me God bless you
Prayers for peace and comfort to you all.
So saddened to hear that another childhood friend has been taken from us! However I am very confident that he is in the arms of his Savior! RIP !!
Kent Nielsen
I was so sad to hear about Gary. Praying for you all during this difficult time!
so sorry for your loss……my God give you peace, comfort and strength…..gary was a very nice well mannered man….hugs mary to you and the girls……condolences from Hank, Elijah and Carly Hankins
so sorry for your loss……my God give you peace, comfort and strength…..gary was a very nice well mannered man….hugs mary to you and the girls……condolences from Hank, Elijah and Carly Hankins
The depth of our heartache is immeasurable. Know that our family is here for all of you, should you need anything at all.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4)
Mary, Lauren and Meagan,
I am so sorry to learn of your tremendous loss. Please know that my thought and prayers are with your family during this difficult time.
Shelly Negrete
We are sorry to hear of the passing of Gary. We have such fond memories of him and the whole family during our childhood days. Our thoughts and prayers go out to Ed, Mary Anne, Greg and the family. We pray for peace and comfort during this time. He will live on in your heart and in your memories.
Sandra Stroud Barker and Milton Stroud
I was shocked and saddened to hear about Gary’s passing. I always looked forward to and enjoyed flying with Gary. He always made it fun to be on the road with many laughs.
My thoughts and prayers are with you at this difficult time.
God Bless,
Sincerely
Craig Winglovitz
So very sorry for your loss Mary. Our thoughts and prayers are with you and your daughters. What an amazing life he had, you were very blessed.
Lisa