Gary Donald Hammerbacher

Gary, our loving husband, soul-mate, father, papa, brother and son passed away on Tuesday, January 5th 2021 at his residence with his family by his side at the age of 69. He was born on February 13th, 1951 to the late Donald & Arlene (Lohrey) Hammerbacher. He was married June 6th, 1981 to his wife of 40 years Susan (Heinz) Hammerbacher. He was a member of St. John's Ev. Lutheran Church, baptized & confirmed in May of 1982. His confirmation verse reads Luke 11:28, He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."  Gary was an Elder, Usher, and also involved with many boards at St. John's Ev. Lutheran Church & School. He was part of the 1968 Regional State Championship Track & Field Team at John Glenn High School, inducted into the Bay County Sports Hall of Fame in 1999 and also inducted into John Glenn High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012.  Gary served in the US Army and was stationed in Germany. He was also a member of the American Legion Post #18.  He was an avid outdoorsmen and enjoyed hunting and fishing with family, friends, and most of all sharing his passion with his grandchildren.  His wife, family, children, and grandchildren (Pumpkins) were his pride and joy.
Gary is survived by his wife, Susan Hammerbacher (Heinz); two daughters, Amy (Casey) Veitengruber and Brooke (Ryan) Madigan; 4 grandchildren, Logan & Ella Veitengruber, Greyson & Olivia Madigan; 3 Siblings, Gale (Cindy) Hammerbacher, Glenn (Lenore) Hammerbacher, Darlene (Terry) Snider; In-laws, Deborah (Karl) Peterson, Cheryl (late Kenneth) Blank, Wendy Heinz; Father and Mother-In-Law, Robert (Shirley) Heinz; and many nieces and nephews, Krista (Brian) Haapala, Trisha (Dave) Gielda, Jay (Crissy) Hammerbacher, Jeff (Halle) Hammerbacher-Martello, Cory (Dani) Snider, Jordan (Dana) Snider, Anthony Garcia, Ashley (Tom) Billings, and Stephanie (Jeff) Petrimoulx; dear friends he spent a great deal of time hunting and fishing with,  Gale Hammerbacher, Mark Rahn, Gary Church and Ken Blank.
The family would like to extend a special thank you to Dr. Oxana Crysler and the staff at the Rogel Cancer Center in Ann Arbor, MI for the exceptional care that they provided to Gary during his cancer journey the last few years.
At the request of Gary, cremation has taken place. Due to Covid-19, a private Memorial Service will be taking place at St. John's Ev. Lutheran Church in Bay City on Friday, 1/8/21. The service will be live streamed for friends and family at 12:45 P.M. https://www.stjohnsbc.org/online-messages .
Memorial contributions may be considered to Pancreatic Cancer Research (pancan.org), Michigan United Conservation Clubs (MUCC.org), or St. John's Ev. Lutheran Church.