Gary D. Hentz Obituary

Gary D. Hentz attended Arlington High School in Lagrangeville, NY. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about Gary D. Hentz.

Graduation Year	Class of 1970
Date of Passing	Feb 15, 2009
About	Gary D. Hentz, 56, of Helena, Montana, passed away suddenly of a heart attack on Sunday, February 15, 2009 while tracking a mountain lion near Cascade, MT. Gary was born on March 2, 1952 in Poughkeepsie, New York. He graduated from Arlington High School in Lagrangeville in 1970. On October 20, 1974, he married Katherine Bastian at Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Poughkeepsie, NY. He worked as an agent and manager for Prudential Insurance through most of the 1980s, and then moved to Metropolitan Insurance Company, where he worked until 1997. In 1997, Gary and Kathy relocated to Helena, MT, as Gary had always wanted to live in Big Sky Country. He became employed with Combined Insurance Company of America and quickly rose to District Manager. This position required him to travel extensively throughout Montana, and he loved what he saw. He met thousands of people this way, and always came home with interesting stories and having made new friends. Gary was a very active man; in New York, he loved fishing and hunting with his father and friends, and took pride in working out in the gym daily to enhance his physique. He continued these pursuits in Montana, and has many hunting buddies and gym friends. He took great pleasure in riding motorcycles, and kept his Harley-Davidson polished and gleaming after each ride. He loved traveling around the US and abroad, especially the Caribbean, Canada, Mexico, and Europe. He was also a great friend to animals, and throughout his life kept many pets. Gary had a keen sense of humor, great intelligence, and deeply-etched conservative beliefs, all of which combined to make a man who greatly enjoyed expressing his opinions, no matter the audience. While this trait did not always earn him approval, he lived his values so thoroughly that he commanded great respect. When Gary said something, you could be certain it was true; if he told you he would help you, he never failed to far surpass your expectations. He made time for everyone, be it a stranded stranger on the highway or a grandchildâ€™s soccer game. He had a deep faith in God that guided him, though he did not belong to a Church. His passing leaves a permanent, immense hole in the lives of those who knew and loved him. Gary was preceded in death by his father, Robert Beneway of Poughquag, NY, in 1987. He is survived by his wife, Kathy; daughter, Vicki and her husband Dexter Ittner; grandchildren Skylar and Marina Ittner; and Brian Lockhart, a family friend who was like a son to Gary, all of Helena; his mother, Louise Beneway of Poughkeepsie; his sister, Linda (and husband Vernon) Wilen of Lehr, ND; his sister, Dawn (and John) Lodge of Hopewell Junction, NY; his sister, Terri (and Charlie) Sofokles of Red Hook, NY; his brothers- and sisters-in-law of the Bastian family, who were his family for thirty-five years, all of New York; four nieces in North Dakota; one niece and two nephews in New York; and four grandnieces and two grandnephews in North Dakota. To offer a condolence to Garyâ€™s family, or to share a memory of Gary, please visit www.MeM.com.