Obituary of Gary Lee Hoskins

Gary Hoskins, Denver; Husband of the late Elizabeth Hoskins; Father of Amanda (Ari) Perlstein, Alison (John) Hoskins-Kelly; Son of the late Marion and Willie Hoskins; Grandfather of Maya and Aidan Perlstein, Oscar and Wendy Kelly.

Gary Lee Hoskins was born on October 1, 1941 at Fitzsimmons General Hospital on the Lowry Airforce Base to Marion Hoskins (Walker) and Willie Hoskins. With Willie relocating frequently during his Airforce service, Gary and his sister, Bonnie Nasser (Hoskins) spent a great deal of time with their maternal grandparents, Lily and Albert Walker. Albert owned the carnation greenhouse that was located on the grounds of what has become Fairmount Cemetery. Many of Gary’s happiest childhood memories involve his “Granddad and Gramma” Walker, and the dedication that they had to each other, to each of their 5 grandchildren, and to the beautiful carnations.

 

Gary intrinsically developed a strong work ethic, maintaining employment throughout his years attending Aurora Highschool (now Aurora Central), and beyond. He worked various job to pay his way through Western State College, where he studied accounting. Gary worked a few jobs in accounting, eventually landing his long-term role at United Banks in Denver, where he managed mergers and acquisitions. 

 

Just shy of his 26^th birthday, Gary was drafted into the military. Due to his age, skills, and reluctance to take orders from a younger Lieutenant, Gary was placed in Military Pay School stationed in Karlsrue, Germany in 1967. After 2 years of managing payments to military personnel and reckless touring of the site in Germany, he was discharged in 1969 to return home to Denver.

 

Gary prided himself on his loyalty, charm, and humor, all characteristics that propelled  him through an active dating life.  He loved to tell tales of the many great loves of his life, and took particular pride in describing his initial encounters with the ultimate love of his life at 10 S. Emerson Street.  Gary lived in the apartment above Liz, and spent months wooing her from the balcony before she acquiesced to his requests to join him for a beer. Liz (Botkin) and Gary married on October 19^th, 1975. Liz and Gary shared many joyful road trips to Colorado ski resorts, blissful concert evenings underneath the Colorado sky, and the infinite joy of bringing 2 daughters into the world-Amanda in 1980 and Alison in 1984.   

 

Liz and Gary raised their daughters in Centennial, Colorado. Gary continued his work at United Bank, then Norwest, and retired when Norwest became Wells Fargo in 1998. Gary enjoyed taking his family on bike rides through Waterton Canyon, fishing in Conifer, and on trips through Southern Colorado. Though he didn’t enjoy air travel, he derived great joy in hearing about the travels of his jet-setting wife and daughters. In 2006, Liz and Gary departed for a Caribbean cruise, resulting in happy memories and hilarious photos to cherish. 

 

When Liz was diagnosed with Ovarian cancer in 2015, Gary remained optimistic and hopeful, but despite the love and support showered upon them from friends, family and community, Liz died after almost 3 years of cancer treatment in May, 2018.  Gary was devastated by this loss, and used his grief as a spark to reignite many old friendships, and establish connections with friends and neighbors.  His humor never faltered, finding a joke for every encounter.   Gary honored birthdays, anniversaries, and special occasions with a phone call, a funny email, or a small gift—especially Amazon or Skechers gift cards. He carried small bouncy balls in his pocket when he went to the store just in case he came across a child who might enjoy a magic trick. He found a way of making friends in the most unlikely of places—particularly at gas stations or parking lots. 

 

His sharp wit and humor served him well as he reluctantly left his family home and loving neighbors of over 30 years to move into an assisted living facility in order to be closer to his daughters and grandchildren, and to receive some support after COVID-era household chores got the best of him. 

 

He delighted in visits with his 4 grandchildren, Maya (Perlstein), Aidan (Perlstein), Oscar (Kelly) and Wendy (Kelly). He made sure there were activities to entertain them during their visits, and always shared his grapes and peanut butter pretzels. Those 4 children were the source of his most intense joy. Gary was a delight to be around, never complaining about his health or discomfort—only ever complaining about the food within his new living arrangement before regaling his guests with stories from his past, jokes, and favorite songs played by his cherished “Alexa.” He was a passionate reader, completing 2-3 books each week on his Kindle, a gift that was lovingly bestowed on him by Liz before she died. He never missed a new Lee Child or John Grisham release. 

 

Gary lived by his routine, recently including daily 2:30am completion of Worldle, Quordle, Word Hurdle, and Heardle, 8:00am recap of the previous days Final Jeopardy, morning and afternoon reading and 5pm bedtime. His days were punctuated by the treasured  visits from his daughters, grandchildren, neighbors, friends and caregivers.

 

Gary is deeply missed by his children, grandchildren, sons-in-law, family members, friends and neighbors. 

 

His life will be celebrated on May 3^rd, 2023 at 4:30 pm at Temple Sinai, Denver.

 

Contributions to Temple Sinai or C.O.C.A.