Classmate Gardner Bemis passed away on March 25, 2023.

Here is what David Webster had to say on behalf of class President Paul Haklisch and the other class officers not long after:

Dear Classmates,

With deep regret, I am writing to report the death of a great friend to so many of us, Gardner Bemis ’72. Gar died in Honolulu, Hawaii, on March 25, 2023, from the complications of Parkinson’s Disease. Here is a link to his obituary in the Minneapolis Star Tribune. (Obituary for Gardner White Bemis (startribune.com)).

Gar came to Williams in 1968 from White Bear Lake, Minnesota. He played rugby with much skill and was a member of the incomparable Bascom House, several of whose members recently shared their thoughts about him:

• While I expected this at some point given the Parkinson’s, it is still a shock.  I choose to remember Gar as the big fun-loving, red-haired Viking that he was.  
• So sad; I would have loved to have learned more from him.
• What a mensch Gar was.

Following Williams, he enlisted as a medical corpsman in the U.S. Naval Reserve, after which he decided to pursue medical school. It took nearly six years to complete the pre-med courses he had not taken at Williams, during which time he supported himself by driving an ambulance in Honolulu. His first marriage ended in divorce.

He chose the University of Minnesota Medical School—a distinct climate change from Hawaii—and as a physician worked in pediatrics, including, particularly, neonatology. When his Parkinson’s worsened in the early 2000s, he retired early from Kaiser Permanente in Honolulu.

Gar worked with Patricia Fegeley at Kaiser Permanente, and they were married in 1990. As he put it in the 25^th reunion book, they “now share four lovely daughters”—Maren, Kate, Mary Pat, and Alison Ji Jun.

Pat Bemis writes to say that Gar was afflicted with Parkinson’s for an incredibly long time–thirty-five years–and that he fought the disease valiantly. Toward the end, “he had “difficulty thinking, speaking, walking, [but] I never heard him say a nasty word against anyone except [a certain political figure] whom he repeatedly called a “jackass.” (Being from Philly, I used more colorful language than Gar,” Pat confirms.)

“Gar was so patient,” Pat continues, “so patient it was like watching paint dry for me. He took his time doing things so that what he did, he did well. Even, for example, when in the middle of a crash C-section, he was methodical, calm, and positive. He was so wonderful.” Pat is particularly grateful for the support she and the family have had from friends in Hawaii. There will be a memorial service there in August, and a second service is scheduled for Ely, Minnesota, in mid-September.

Classmates are invited to share their memories of Gar Bemis on the class website, www.purplecow72.com (below, using the comments tool).

Respectfully submitted,
David M. Webster ’72
For class president Paul Haklisch ’72 and the class officers.