To Our Valued Donors,
As many of you are probably already aware the community lost a great leader and friend when Stephen Gary passed away unexpectedly on May 17. We felt compelled to remind you, and ourselves, what Steve did for the community and for the Pickaway County Community Foundation.
Steve was well known during his three terms as a PCCF board member and two years as chair as a laid back and wise man who was very engaged and offered his opinions calmly and thoughtfully. He rarely missed a meeting and was heavily engaged during his time on the board. He always brought pumpkin donuts from Lindsey’s Bakery to the meetings. During his tenure on the board, PCCF saw tremendous growth including helping start Pickaway Addiction Action Coalition(PAAC). Steve and his late wife Judith were among the first advocate sponsors of PCCF and Steve was instrumental in bringing one of the first business funds to PCCF. He encouraged his fellow board members to follow their philanthropic passions which he knew would be a great benefit to the Pickaway County community.
While Steve didn’t talk about himself or do any of the things he did for notoriety and recognition, he gave his time, money and energy to a great many causes throughout Pickaway County. He started his professional career at The Savings Bank, climbing the ladder until he took over as CEO and president in 1991. He was a past president of Circleville Sunrise Rotary Club, past chairman of the Pickaway County Chamber of Commerce, a recipient of the Ned Harden Visitor Award from the Pickaway County Visitors Bureau, was past president of the Pickaway Progress Partnership (P3) board and was a recipient of the John Stevenson Economic Development Award, Steve was a former board member of Pickaway County Community Action.
Outside of those organizations, Steve was a 46 year 4-H advisor, was a past member of the Ohio 4-H Foundation, was past Master of the Clarksburg Grange, was a founding member of the Deerfield Township Zoning Board and was a member of the Brown Chapel UMC where he held numerous leadership roles. For 37 years, Steve portrayed Santa Claus alongside Judy who portrayed Mrs. Claus. Each year since their marriage, they adopted a family in need at Christmas, helping thousands of people over a course of 50 years.
We celebrate Steve and his incredible life and once again offer our condolences to his loved ones. He will continue to serve as an inspiration to us at PCCF on how to conduct yourself and what one person can do to change their community for the better. We will continue to be an example to the entire community of what people like Steve can accomplish when we work together.
In honor of Steve, PCCF has made a donation to the Chris Gary Memorial Fund alongside countless other community members as a way to honor Steve’s contributions to Pickaway County.
Yours in service,
Alexis & Steven