June 13, 1954– Sept. 15, 2024
After a prolonged illness, Don Gargaro III, 70, died peacefully at home at Ellsworth Lake on Sept. 15, 2024 with his devoted partner, Lynne Spencer, and their sweet dog, Davi, by his side. Born in Detroit, he was the eldest of the late Don II and Joann Gargaro’s six children.
Don was an artist at heart. As a teen, his untrained hand and uncanny perception produced sophisticated sketch caricatures, capturing the essence– visible and invisible– of his subjects mostly his family. He was an avid reader, whose recommendations were typically spot-on. He particularly loved music, ranging from the Chicago blues to the British Invasion to the plaintive soul of the Texas Hill Country. He was an excellent guitar player with a great ear and a deep appreciation for the passion of the musicians whose songs he studied and played. His tastes were cultivated with curiosity and wonder, and his opinions were often unyielding. His musical aesthetic remains an enduring influence on his siblings, nieces, nephews, and friends. Most would agree that their playlists and record collections bear Don’s indelible imprint.
He was also a passionate sports fan, dedicated to Notre Dame Football and the Detroit Red Wings. His family group chat during the Wings’s most recent Stanley Cup teams was must-read hockey commentary, and a great source of connection when he was living and working out-of-state. And no one knew more about the great racehorse, Secretariat, than Don. His love for Secretariat, whom he called the world’s greatest athlete, reflected his love for animals, especially his dogs, Scamp, Luigi, Marco, and Lucca.
Don was the repository of family stories with an encyclopedic memory of names, details, and human idiosyncrasies, many that he could mimic with uncanny, hilarious precision. His happy place was Up North, particularly the family cottage on Otsego Lake, where he developed a lifelong love of fishing, laughed, skied, and cut-up with the many happy travelers who gathered in that special place year after year.
Don’s ability to recreate people with a pencil sketch, their music with authenticity, and their stories in three-dimensional detail, reflected a unique sensitivity that ultimately led to his success for many years as a counselor, specializing in drug and alcohol addiction. He trained and worked at the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation in Minnesota and later at La Hacienda Treatment Center in Texas. It was in these places that Don pulled his unique passions together in the service of others. His honesty, wisdom, and humanity helped many, and was a source of pride for him and those who loved him.
Don is survived by his partner Lynne, his siblings Marty, Brian (Annette) John (Kali), Juliann (Ron), and Paul (Celia), as well as 20 nieces and nephews and 23 grand nieces and nephews. The family received visitors Thursday, Sept. 19, from 10 am to 11 am at St. Mary Catholic Church, 14200 E. Old US Highway 12, Chelsea, Mich. A funeral Mass at St. Mary immediately followed the visitation. Don was interred after the Mass in the mausoleum at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery, 25800 W. 10 Mile Rd., Southfield, Mich. Gifts in Don’s memory can be made to the Bissell Pet Foundation or a local Humane Society.
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