Gary "Van" Sanders Obituary (1946 - 2020)

Gary Van Sanders, 73, passed away peacefully at home on May 31, 2020, after a 2-1/2 year battle with leukemia. Born on August 5, 1946 to Paul and Nettie McCoy Sanders, Van attended Alamo High School where he began to hone his talent as a musician and played the saxophone in the school band and other informal groups. After graduation in 1964, he entered Lambuth College and a year later married Linda Sue Williams, his high school sweetheart, and a year after that they had their first child, Stephanie. In May, 1968, he welcomed his second child, Cristie, into the world and also graduated from Lambuth College with a B.S. in Chemistry. Van and Sue then went back home to Alamo where Van began farming. Over the next several years, they would welcome their third child, Michael, and last, but not least, number four, Heather. Over the next few decades, when he wasn't in the field praying for rain or cursing the rain when it overstayed its welcome, he continued to enjoy his love of music and played his saxophone in a few bands. His kids grew up thinking everybody heard music coming from the bathroom (because the bathroom had the best acoustics and that is where he practiced). Somewhere along the way, he discovered a new talent....woodworking. In the beginning, only his family members reaped the benefits of his new found hobby and his wife and children all had beautiful custom kitchen cabinets, rolltop desks and bedroom furniture, that were made out of oak and "weighed a ton but will last forever." He often wrote personal messages in black magic marker in inconspicuous places on these masterpieces, which the owners will now treasure more than ever. He would later turn that hobby into a business, and provided custom cabinetry to the general public for the last twenty years. He was a lifelong Methodist, farmer, a musician, a butcher, a carpenter, a skeet shooter, a hunter, and a fisherman. He loved corn flakes covered with vanilla ice cream, he loved to laugh and he loved hard working people. But more than these things, he loved his family, in particular his grandbabies and great grandbabies. They all got to ride the tractors, feed the ducks and have Paw Paw push them in the swings for hours. Being Paw Paw brought him endless joy and he took great pride in spoiling all of them. Van was predeceased by his parents, Paul and Nettie Sanders, and a brother, Paul, Jr. He is survived by his wife of 54 years, Sue, four children, Stephanie (Todd) Boone of Ada, Oklahoma, Cristie Sanders Wright of Oakfield, Michael (Angela) Sanders of Coxville and Heather McFarland (Tommy Shaffer) of Milan,, a brother, Bruce Sanders, of Alamo, ten grandchildren, Taylor Wright, Jackson (Meghan) Boone, Jordan Boone, Jake Boone, John Boone, Nikki McFarland, Kase McFarland, Liz McFarland, Kooper McFarland and Bryson Shaffer, and two great grandchildren, Lane and Kate Archibald. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Van's memory to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation or the American Cancer Society. Due to COVID-19, a private family Celebration of Life will be held.