Gary Lee Habben

GARY LEE HABBEN was born on September 16, 1959 in Tyler, Minnesota. He was raised by his parents, Dennis and Delores in the Pipestone area. A lot of his time was also spent with his grandparents, Bill and Millie Habben in Burchard, Minnesota. As he was growing up, he attended school in Russell, Minnesota and in Pipestone. At the age of 17, Gary enlisted into the United States Navy. He completed basic training in San Diego, California and was later stationed on Midway Island, which was his favorite place on earth. After being honorably discharged from the Navy, he returned to the Pipestone area. He attended vocational school for auto mechanic where he met Nancy Pope. The two were united in marriage on July 10, 1982 at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Pipestone. He worked in numerous places in Sioux Falls, South Dakota and Marshall, Minnesota before eventually settling in Pipestone. While living in Pipestone, Gary enjoyed working as a mechanic, driving semi-truck, driving school bus and also driving the city taxi. On Thursday, January 8, 2015, Gary died unexpectedly while at home at the age of 55 years, 3 months and 22 days.

Gary was a huge fan of Sprint car racing, fishing, and shooting pool with his buddies. He also loved buying old Chevys and fixing them up. He was a member of the Michael Boock American Legion Post #6 and the VFW Post #3814 in Pipestone.

Gary is lovingly remembered by his 3 sons: Brian, Bill and Craig, all of Pipestone, Minnesota; his father, Dennis Mead of Ruthton, Minnesota; 3 siblings: Kris (Dave) Nelson of Pipestone, Mike (Lori) Mead of Luverne, Minnesota and Kim (Anthony) Hobson of Phoenix, Arizona; 6 grandchildren: Alexis, Ariana, Alleah, Sabrina, Owen, and Aiden; his uncle, Darwin Habben – who he thought of as a brother – of Omaha, Nebraska and several aunts and uncles. Gary is preceded in death by his mother, Delores and his grandparents, Bill and Millie.