Gary Oaks, 1957—2016
Gary Oaks was 10 days short of his 59th birthday when he was found dead of pneumonia in a Ballard alley on May 5, 2016. He was know and beloved in the area. He had temporarily stayed at Tent City 5. Pastor Britt Olson of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church was asked to come and gave him a blessing. WHEEL Women in Black stood vigil for Gary on May 18th.
Gary’s Leaf is placed at Ballard Commons Park. If you have photos or memories of Gary, please post a comment.
Featured Leaf May 2018
One Comment
Peter
I met Gary when visiting Seattle.
He was kind to me.
He told me that he had been to all fifty states, mostly by hitchhiking. He used to work at the carnival, and the ride he operated was called the Electric Slide.
While I was there, he was staying with a group of other people in a tent camp. He was doing security there, and he told me that he shaved off his beard once a year on his birthday.
He said that people all went around looking at their phones these days, which was crazy. He said they should be looking up at the world instead.
I remember him, he was a kind man and decent to other people.