Suddenly passed away on November 15, 2024, at the age of 74. Resident of The Villages, FL, and longtime former resident of Bayside, WI. Beloved husband of Diane (Westphal) Witthuhn. Loving father of Nick Witthuhn and Bryan (Julie) Witthuhn. Proud grandfather of Chloe; Luke and Jackson. Dear brother of the late Darryl Witthuhn. Further survived by other loving relatives and many good friends.
Gary was born in Milwaukee, WI on March 6, 1950 to Herbert and Harriet Witthuhn. He primarily grew up in Columbus, WI. He married Diane Westphal on November 11, 1978 in Mequon, WI at St. James Church, and was happily married for over 46 years. He graduated in 1972 with a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he was fraternity member of Phi Chi Epsilon. For most of his life, he worked as a Financial Advisor for The Equitable, AXA Advisors and Benefit Specialist Group. He was an extremely hard working, organized, and driven individual.
Gary was passionate about playing basketball and baseball, and made sure people knew that he played “hardball” and definitely NOT softball. Gary absolutely loved baseball. He was highly awarded in these sports, and maintains leaderboard records for pitching at UW Whitewater. Gary was inducted into the Rock River Baseball League Hall of Fame in 2004. He played for Reeseville, Hustisford, Rubicon, Lebanon, Milwaukee Braves, Killer Bee’s, Vintages, Trysting Place, Athletics, and on many other teams. He played all positions but was highly successful in pitching, and has 3 full game no-hitters His best pitch was the knuckle curve. He also played in Men’s Senior League Baseball until the day he died. He traveled to play in countless tournaments in Arizona, and Florida multiple times a year, and won 8 championship rings. In basketball, he has multiple All-Star appearances and championship trophies at The Eagles Club which he enjoyed in his late 20’s- early 30’s. He loved coaching both of his sons in
baseball and basketball at Glendale little league, St. Eugene’s and Dominican high school, and found joy in helping players to develop skills, confidence, and love for the sports.
Gary enjoyed traveling the world with the love of his life, Diane. Most recently visiting London, Scotland, and other places in the Mediterranean. He’s also enjoyed notable trips to Alaska, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Ireland, Hawaii, amongst many other places. They enjoyed many cruises. He enjoyed countless long road trips across the United States with his family to visit our countries monuments, MLB baseball parks, breweries, wineries, and local distilleries. He enjoyed a good map, and seemed to know the best way to get everywhere, often describing the route in detail. He couldn’t resist a cheese and sausage run when back in Wisconsin to visit his family. And would always prioritize getting the best parking spot.
Gary had lots of hobbies that he enjoyed. He had an impressive collection of beer cans, and enjoyed adding to the collection and selling his duplicates at swap meets. Also impressive was his collection of bourbon. He also enjoyed golfing and bowling. His kids describe him as the “Snack Man”, and anyone close to him knew how excited he was to share his favorite snacks, which included a unique variety interesting flavors. He often brought these snacks with him to his favorite bar in Milwaukee called King Pin’s and would selflessly share them with the patrons there. He found humor in sending an awful tasting shot of Mohawk extra strength ginger brandy as a joke to an unknowing person. He loved being generous and was one of the most giving persons around. He would always share refreshments and snacks with his teammate’s, and there’s stories of him leaving full beer cans for his golf friends at the tee box to enjoy on the hole behind him. He also loved playing games, such as: billiards, cards, sequence, marbles, cribbage, Euchre and many others.
Gary was a great person, who loved entertaining, laughing, and making others happy. He was very nurturing to his family and friends. He made it a priority to keep in close contact with those important to him. Whether it was to see how everything were going, meet up when in the area, or hang
out after one of his games. In The Villages, he was a founding member of the Crazy 8’s, which enjoyed a monthly Martini Party.
Gary was a loving husband, father, and grandpa. He was extremely proud of his 2 boys, Goober and baby Bye-Bye. He absolutely adored his niece Chloe, and his nephews Luke and Jackson. And he showed his excitement when he visited his favorite dog Bisquick, many times bringing treats. He would often share a nap with his favorite kitties Baby and Tiger.
Gary had an undeniable presence and will be deeply missed by his wife, family and friends.
A second Celebration of Life will take place at Hiers-Baxley Funeral Services, 3975 Wedgewood Lane, The Villages, FL 32162, on January 11, 2025 from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.
