4/5/2004

In Memory of Gary Yucker

Gary was taken suddenly from us today at the age of 46.

May God Bless Gary and his family & friends during this very difficult time.

Gary was a generous person, who always thought for others, and treated his good friends as the family he was missing.

DCS (Gary's department at work) chipped in to keep Gary around forever. Please add your comments to the guest book and pass around.

Please visit the Guest Book for Gary Yucker.

http://www.legacy.com/Link.asp?Id=GB02119205X

Click on the above link or cut and paste the url into your browser's address bar.

From Lou Fiorentino

Gary on:

Cars: Gary had a passion for cars. Whenever he went on a business trip his one stipulation was that they would need to supply him with a white car. He didn't care what make or model but he loved white cars. Both his cars are white. His favorite car, that he hoped to someday purchase, was a white 1976 Corvette. Gary and a few of his friends at one point decided they would start a Corvette club where they would all purchase Corvettes. I think a few of them had purchased Corvettes but Gary's dream of owning one never came true.

Gambling: In the 2002 Superbowl pool we asked Gary if he wanted a box. Gary said he would make his donation. He won the first quarter and received $100. When it was time for The 2003 Superbowl pool we again asked Gary if he wanted a box. His reply was no. He said "I won last year so let's give someone else a chance". We convinced him that that was silly and he purchased a box. This time he won the final and received $500. He was so embarrassed that he won again that he spent $250 on Mrs. Fields Cookies for his co-workers on the 6th and 8th floors.

Gifts: DCS had a tradition of giving gifts for the Holiday season. Gary did not participate, he did not like the holiday season his favorite quote during the holiday's was "Bah Humbug". But Gary was very generous during special occasions. He would give gifts for Engagements, Births, or anything occasion he thought important. He was very generous when my daughter Jordan was born, and continued to give gifts on her birthday. I found out that his VCR was on the blink, and my wife and I decided to give him a gift certificate to Circuit City to purchase a DVD/VCR combo. He came in one day in mock anger and said that the gift certificate almost cost him $6,000 because when he walked into Circuit City he fell in love with a wide screen TV and was going to purchase it. But being sensible Gary, he only bought the DVD/VCR player.

Advice: Gary had a very analytical mind. He was someone you could always go to discuss things. Not only work matters but private matters also. I spoke to him many times about things like purchasing a new car or re-finishing my basement. He would contemplate things and make suggestions that I would not even have thought of. He was sincere and only wanted what was best for everyone. I will miss these discussions with him. He really seemed to enjoy himself when he was giving advice or solving a problem. This was where Gary was at his best.

Work Ethic: Again this was where Gary excelled. He was the most thorough worker I have ever seen. Talk about someone who always dotted their i's or crossed their t's and that was Gary. This would frustrate many people, but this was the level of quality Gary expected from himself and would accept nothing less from anyone else. Though it was frustrating, this is the type of performance you would expect from an employee and could only benefit the organization. I only hope some of his diligent work ethic rubbed off on me. That would be the best way for me to honor his memory.

From Alan Kramer :

As for my thoughts regarding Gary, I came to appreciate that he was extremely meticulous about his work. When he said that he would follow-up and call you in a week, you could be sure that he would. When I would run into him in the lobby, he would always exchange a very friendly hello and often share some thoughts or concerns he had as to how to improve something further. In some cases these exchanges would occur months after a project was completed, yet Gary was still thinking about a refinement or improvement.

From Ed Terracciano

GARY ON BEING HIRED IN DCS

When there was an opening in DCS, I recommended Gary for the spot because I knew he was out of work and looking for a job. I mentioned Gary's name to Lou Fiorentino and Jack Leone and both said go for it. I called Gary and set up an interview with him. Lou and I were going to do the interview. When Gary got here Lou and I took him out to lunch where we were going to talk about the job. After 5 minutes of talking to Gary, Gary took over the conversation and went on for about an hour why we SHOULD NOT hire him. It seemed that there was no way that Lou or I could convince Gary that we wanted him for the job. Well we left the offer on the table to Gary that we wanted him. Gary said he would get back to us in a day or so with his answer. Then the fight started because Gary insisted on paying for lunch. Lou and I threw our hands up and said go ahead pay.

The best part of the story is that Gary called back the next day and said he would take the job which made us happy. For those of you who knew Gary you know how the story went for the next 2 1/2 years.

GARY THE PERSON

I knew Gary for the last 20 years. There was no one who was a more generous and giving person and one who never asked for anything in return. I relied on Gary for many things and in most cases never had to ask for his help, because he somehow knew that I was having difficulty with something and always asked what was wrong and how could he help. Gary was there when I needed him and never let me down. I for one do not know how I will get along without him.

As I said I have known Gary for a number of years. When my mother passed away in 1994, Gary came to the wake and met my family. It is a relationship that lasted until the day he died. When I broke the news of Gary's passing to my wife, son and daughter, there was not a dry eye to be seen. This was the effect Gary had on people.

My friend, you will always have a spot in my heart and I will have fond memories that I will cherish forever.

Rest in Peace my friend.

From Dan Portnoy

It was a pleasure to work with someone like Gary who would go the extra mile to be accommodating, and who always made sure we had what was needed as long as it was his to deliver. When it wasn't part of what he could do, he would be sure to temper any disappointing news sympathetically and, always, with a smile. We will miss Gary.

From Rich Zottarelli

Back when Pam and I were doing mainframe installs, Gary was with the app pgmr's group, and they would submit installs for us to review for mistakes and adherence to standards. I don't recall the exact details, but I think it was after we signed off on a rather large install from Gary, he sent both of us gift certificates with a nice note saying how much he appreciated our hard work on his behalf. We didn't do anything special, just our jobs! And it was ironic too because when it came to reviewing his installs, there was never any hard work. Everything he submitted was perfect. But that's the kind of person he was.

From  Arun Prakash

In all the years I have known Gary, he has been an inspiration to me in all aspects. We have lost a gem of a person.

Gary, you will be missed.

From Joe DeMartino

When it comes to work ethics, I never met any one as dedicated as Gary. I generally worked late every night, and Gary never left the office before me without stopping in and asking if I needed anything before he left. Gary never refused to help some one with a problem even when he felt it was trivial. Gary received more calls for help than the entire department put together. Many users would hang up if Gary wasn’t available rather than seek assistance from one of the other systems programmers.

If you had to describe Gary in a single word, it would have to be ‘meticulous’. It really annoyed him to see things in disarray. Many times I would come in after leaving my desk a mess the night before to find that Gary just couldn’t put up with this. He would create neat little piles on my desk and chastise me for being untidy. This did cause some interesting situations in that when he shared an office with some one else, he tended to enforce strict rules of neatness on his office mate. I use to swap Tilak and Brian back and forth with him every few months to avoid conflicts. The situation was finally resolved when we moved to Brooklyn. I sat him with Tilak, but had Tilak report to Jersey City every day for on-site support. I wasn’t pulling the wool over Gary’s eyes though, because he did mention to me that he knew why I was doing this.

Any thing Gary did was done to perfection. When I first began working at Systematics, I was asked to install OS to replace DOS, mainly because the DOS system consistently crashed a number of times each day. To accomplish this while still supporting the production DOS system, I put Gary in charge of DOS while I installed and implemented OS. By the time I was ready for implementation, Gary had managed to get the existing DOS system humming with perfection. It ran so well, that John Scopaz asked me if we should just forget about OS and continue running DOS.

I left RNB in February of 1999. Since leaving, Gary still sent a Birthday card to me each year. When my daughter had twins this past October, he sent a special card to congratulate me. This was a man with a huge heart who will be missed by me till the day I join him.

From Lindsey Grigsby

When I arrived in New Jersey Wednesday and spoke to some of the guys that were there..There was a numbness that came over me..I had the priviledge and the honor of knowing a fellow co-worker who was a good man considerate and kind..I can remember the times calling Gary and asking questions on Veritas or going down and speaking to Ed on the 6th floor.In my life I have lost many wonderful people..Family,friends,co-workers,fellow Marines,,I guess when I hear of someone dying the numbness only last a little while because on the numerous deaths I have experienced..But the memories are the things I cherish the most...I am glad to have known such an individual,,As stated it was an HONOR knowing such a wonderful human being..Thanks

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Revised: April 04, 2009.

 

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