116 3rd St SE
Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
Obituaries
The Gazette publishes obituaries on a daily basis. Use the search field above to search for obituaries by name or keyword. Readers can submit an obituary or submit a milestone to The Gazette. The obituary must be submitted before 1 p.m. for publication on thegazette.com at 6 p.m. and in the daily edition the next day, with the exception of obituaries for Sunday publication, which must be submitted by 1 p.m. on Fridays.
Gary Sparks
GARY SPARKS
Atkins
Gary Sparks, 72, died March 20, 2016, in Turner, Ore., where he and his wife, Lu (Luella Yoch), had resided since 2008.
Gary grew up in Atkins, Iowa, and served in the U.S. Navy during the Vietnam War. He and Lu married in Atkins in 1967. Six months later they moved to California, where Gary worked as an aerospace engineer for Lockheed-Martin for 30 years. After retiring, Gary and Lu moved to Colorado and later settled in Turner, Ore.
He was a member of Calvary Lutheran Church in Stayton, Ore. Gary enjoyed RV traveling, vegetable gardening and woodworking.
He is survived by his wife, Lu; sister, Connie (Larry) Shears; brother, Charles (Laura) Book; aunts, Sara Schwab and Amy Jo Carbaugh; uncle, John (Pauletta) Carbaugh; and numerous in-laws and their spouses.
A memorial in June in Iowa is planned.
Daily Newsletters