Support for Gary's Final Journey and Memorial

On Saturday September 28th, our beloved friend and colleague Gary Stephens crossed over into the next life, following a long-term battle with numerous health conditions. He went peacefully, surrounded by loved ones comforting him when he passed. If you knew Gary, you know that he had a huge heart, and dedicated much of his adult life to serving others in healthcare, much of that in clinical laboratory work for Medical Center of Plano where he met many of his closest friends. He was also a regular in many social circles in the Turtle Creek, Highland Park, and Oak Lawn communities of Dallas. He was a regular at Lucky's Diner, the Tin Room, and Marios where he often met with long time friends and neighbors for weekly or monthly dinners. We can't forget how witty, and oftentimes mischievous he could be, and his love for the risque humor! We were all touched by Gary's life in one way or another, good and bad, and we will all carry a part of him with us moving forward. He will be missed.

I've been close friends with Gary since 2005-2006, and we've been through so many journeys together, he's watched me overcome the worst parts of my life, he's had a profound impact on my life in many ways. For the past year my family and I have been working with Gary as his caretakers and personal assistant, aiding in tasks around the home, rides to the store, laundry, docs, bank, and other errands. We had found him a senior independent living facility in McKinney just down the street from my family's house, to get him closer, but he had the medical event that led to his passing before he could move in. Unfortunately, among the tasks on the list of things to get done, was a durable, and healthcare power of attorney, which he'd agreed to sign over to me, but before we could get the papers to the hospital with a notary, he had another episode and become non-competent. Sadly this means that it's now upon me to navigate his estate with no will found, with only a notarized private caretaker agreement that holds little to no weight beyond his passing. To petition the court for administrator status, I have to put an attorney on retainer, and pay hourly for the petition. If approved, this will give me broad powers to execute the estate and once we can obtain a death certificate and execute his life insurance, I'll have him cremated so we may have a memoral. I have exhausted my entire savings the past month with round trips from Midland-Odessa, TX to DFW to help him, and navigate this, and I just simply have no further resources to tap into in order to move the process forward.

I am asking for any help toward these costs associated with navigating Gary's estate and final affairs, and to lay him to rest.

A memorial service and get together is in the works. If you would like to be added to the list of people to notify for the memorial, please email me and I'll make sure you get notified. A facebook group / event will be started as well soon, and linked here.

Thank you each and all so very much!

Timothy Carroll