Gary Jay Shandrew

Gary Jay Shandrew, age 67 from Logan, Utah. He passed away Wednesday, December 4, 2024, at Rocky Mountain Cares Hospice in Logan Utah. His wife, DelmaRae, was by his side at the time of his departing. Gary endured his decreased physical and mental health valiantly. He had decreased balance, dizziness and other health issues with some of them being related to Lewy Body Dementia. The hardest part toward the end was his inability to communicate, losing his ability to create a sentence.

Gary was born on 30 September 1957 in Brigham City, Box Elder, Utah. He shared that date with the birth of his twin sister, Teri Shandrew Jensen from Perry, Utah. Their parents Lester Wayne and Arlene Virginia (Knudsen) Shandrew.

He is survived by his wife, DelmaRae Doty Shandrew of Logan, Utah. They were married for Time and Eternity in the Logan Utah Temple on the 21 July 2016. He is also survived by his sisters Karen Shandrew Koehler of Brigham City, Utah and Teri Shandrew Jensen of Perry, Utah. He is also survived by his sister-in-law, Vena (Ronnie) Howard. Including lots of nieces and nephews and grand nieces and nephews that loved him and could understand his dry sense of humor.

He was previously married to Farlene Freeze. Together they had three boys: Josh Shandrew (Makinzie) of Malad, Idaho. They have four children, Jaxson, Annebelle, Olivia and Madeline. Jeremiah Shandrew (Larissa) of Monroe, Ohio. They have four children, Zandin, Xyden, Rowan and Lanaya. Jaykob Shandrew (Karli) of Logan, Utah. Jaykob has a son, Kyson Yates. Jaykob and Karli have one son, Marcus.

When he married DelmaRae he added four stepchildren, Laurann (Matt) Pluta, they have five daughters, Caitlyn, Abigail, Emily, Lindsey, and Grace of Galatia, Illinois. Alisa Menke and her daughter, Lyla of Herriman, Utah. Garrett (Karen) Menke, they have three children, Caysen, Amara, Micah of Saratoga Springs, Utah, and Joseph Menke of Provo, Utah. They loved him deeply and always tried to include him in family activities.

He was preceded in death by his parents, half-sisters – Joy Ann Shandrew (Ximenez) New Mexico, Lynda Howard (Sneddon) Brigham City, Utah. Half-brothers – Guy Ronnie Howard, Brigham City, Utah and Bobby Shandrew, Virginia. His nephews – Thomas Sneddon Jr, Brandon Koehler and Dustin Howard.

Gary grew up in Brigham City. He loved participating in drama, woodworking, etc. at Box Elder High School, graduating in 1976. He was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He served a mission to Madrid, Spain.

After his mission he came home and married his high school sweetheart, Farlene Freeze. They started out living in Salt Lake City, Utah. Then they moved to Willard, Utah. While living there he became part of the Willard/Perry Police Department, later becoming the Chief of Police. He served there for 10 years. They then moved to Spring Creek, Nevada (Elko). He worked in security, then at a construction company. He broke his lower back in a construction accident there. This was one of the things that started his 30 plus years of back pain and migraines. While living there he had the opportunity to teach early morning seminary that he loved so much.

They moved back to Brigham City to be close to family. He went back to school for his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science. This enabled him to be an administrator at a private vocational college.

When the economic downturn happened, he went to work at several different jobs, finally at a factory making dyes and inks for the silk-screening industry for 10 years.

The job was in Logan, so his family encouraged him to move to Logan to live in the apartment below Jaykob and Karli’s. This helped so he wouldn’t have to drive the Sardine Canyon, especially in winter.

At this time, he met his current wife, DelmaRae Doty Menke at church and then he was assigned to be her home teacher. They were married on the 21 July 2016 in the Logan Utah Temple for Time and Eternity. For a while they lived in the downstairs apartment. Then moved to Providence and then back to Logan in 2021.

Gary had to leave his employment at the beginning of 2020 because of extreme dizziness and other health issues. He was dealing with several health issues including Long Hauling COVID and then memory issues. He was advised that he had Lewy Body Dementia about 7 months ago. The last four years have been a lot of doctors, physical therapy, etc. He started with Hospice care about 4 weeks ago. The last round of COVID and other infections took a toll on him, due to this he went quickly.

We would like to thank Rocky Mountain Care Hospice for their care of Gary during the last few weeks. The family would like to extend our appreciation to his wife, DelmaRae, for her unending care and support for Gary during the last four years.

Per Gary’s request he wanted no funeral or memorial service. He wanted to be cremated which was handled by Cache Valley Mortuary of Hyde Park, Utah. Per his request, his ashes will be placed later in the Avon Cemetery, where his Shandrew ancestors are buried. Details for the grave side service and Celebration of life will follow sometime in late spring or early summer.

In leu of flowers, we would appreciate help with the funeral cost. Please send any contributions to his spouse, DelmaRae Shandrew at 1717 S. 1280 W. Logan, Utah 84321. For any questions feel free to contact her at ddshandrew@yahoo.com