Tina Zuelzer (Potter-Cullum)

 I remember you so well Gary...and am saddened and think about you now...

Blessings to your family....

Tina

Gabrielle D. Peak

 I remember Gary so well and thought he was the COOLEST OF THE COOL! Gary was in the 7th grade at AHJS and I was a 5th grader at Cambridge Elementary when we first met. I was starstruck because Gary was already tall, really good looking and always smiling. Also, he was a hoot-I mean funny as all get out! I had such a crush on him that I couldn't even speak in his presence almost- except HUMINAH...HUMINAH...HUMINAH...HUMINAH! Plus -Gary was always so nice to me and I was just the pesky little sister of his Junior and Senior High School girlfriend,Chalfant Peak. Since we could get our drivers licenses @ 14 back then,Gary would try to pick up Chalfant before she was allowed to officially "car date". Of course, my father would answer the door and nicely send Gary off on his own without Chalfant until she could "car date" in late Fall of their Freshman year at AHHS. I also remember how devastated we were when Gary died-it was inconceivable! How could the Fitch family cope with such a tragedy? A few years later, Susan Fitch helped Chalfant and me through the grief process when our father died unexpectedly. Susan was a God send and well-seasoned in processing overwhelming grief after her older brother's death. The Fitchs are made of strong stuff and made a lifelong impression on me.     I will see you on the Other Side, Gary and Chalfant.         Gabrielle "Abbie" Peak

Susan Fitch

My Wonderful, Wacky, Handsome Brother,

I am finally finding the words I have wanted to say to you for so long. We grew up in a difficult way, with a Mother who couldn't have been greater and with a Dad who was very lost and needed to feel he had control each and every second of every day. We each played our role - Bill, the first born with all of the acoutrement that such a placement a family of the 1950s bestowed upon a first born son. Linda, the first girl who smiled, trusted and played the high school game so well and managed to get through it unscathed and as wonderful as ever. You, the athlete who had to no choice but to live to make other peoples' dreams come true. And, Me, the youngest, the truthsayer and the rebel.

You left us all so very suddenly that none of us were able to say our goodbyes. I know that after you passed, I dreamt the same dream about you for over 15 years. I dreamed that you had never really died but, instead, were hiding in the hills around Austin until it was "time" for you to return to us. I would waken from this dream often trying to figure out if it had, indeed really been a dream. or, perhaps, it was the truth I had just discovered - and sadness would fill me when the light of day would remind me of the answer to my question.

I miss you, Gary. I miss your laughter, your energy, your smile, your optimism, and your advice on life: "Susan, don't listen to them, Just let it go in one ear andout the other - then go ahead and do what you want to do!" Oh, if I had only listened to you! But, I was the truthsayer and just couldn't wrap my head around what you said. But, Gary, I DID survive!

I guess what I really want to tell you now is that I am finally okay with me and have realized that I deserve to make my dreams come true. As I begin this new path in my life, I want you to know that I know you are always going to be with me - and that I hope through finally living my dream, you might finally experience your own through me. 

I love you, Gary - and I always will.

Your little sister,

Susan

Patti Tennis (Flynn)

I am crying after reading this. Yes, Susan , you are a survivor. And a great one at that. Everyone knew

that Gary Fitch was the coolest of the cool from elementary school on! So good looking & laughing. All the

guys wanted to be him & all the girls wanted to be with him. I know he & your Dad are proud of you Susan.

God Bless you & all your family.

Patti Tennis

Sarah Williams (Conger)

My daughter, Jane Conger, also thought Gary was a neat person..His accident was so close to where we live in AH and his earlyl death made such an impression on all of us mothers because  back then, we knew most of the class members...After Jane died (age 26) I tried to keep up with her classmates, and this site has made it possible...We don't forget our children's friends...ever!   Sarah W. Conger

Susan Fitch

Dear Mrs. Conger, 

Thank you so very much for your kind words. Gary had gone through some tough times and had just begun to get his feet on the ground when the accident occurred. He was hospitalized and lived for only about 27 hours after the accident. For my mom and I, it was hard knowing what to pray for, as we knew that if he were to live, he would have done so without speech, sight, and hearing. It took me a long time to actually accept his death, and it's only been recently that I could speak openly about it. In our family, we were raised in pairs - my eldest brother and elder sister were three years apart, and, then, Gary and I came along about eight years after our eldest brother - with only a year between us. When I lost him, it was as if I had lost part of myself.

I wasn't much of a "joiner" in high school, but I could never forget Jane. She was one of the kindest persons in the Class of 1969. I was always called, "Little Fitch" by most students or "Billy, Linda, Gary, Susan" by most teachers - but Jane always called me by my name and treated me with a kindness that I knew little of as an adlolescent. Her loss, at such an early age, was not just a loss to those of us who knew her, but it was a loss to the balance of goodness and kindness in our world. I am certain of this because I was one of the people who were so much better off for having known her.

Thank you for not forgetting Sarah's friends - thank you for Gary and for myself. 

in peace and deepest gratitude,

Susan Fitch

Sandy Stokes

Girls: Susan, Gabrielle, Sarah, oh, what nice things you have to say about Gary. I sit on the jetties of Port Aransas most every morning and remember Gary along with Jane as I speak to the Heavens and pay tribute  to all my lost friends and classmates—Stevie, Linda McDougal, Missy Landsman, Kip Davidson, Tommy (Rat) Holmes, Jamie Mason, Chalfant, Doug Taylor and while the list keeps growing my sadness does as well. I never want them to think they are forgotten. 

Peace and Lov,

HR (Sandy) Stokes III