Gary G. Hadenfeldt died Dec. 7, 2002, at Kindred Hospital in Seattle. He was 58 years old.

Mr. Hadenfeldt was born Sept. 2, 1944, to Ervin and Virginia Hadenfeldt in Martinez, Calif.

Mr. Hadenfeldt was self-employed as a groundskeeper for many island residences.

He also had many interests, including sports, gardening, cars and raising his grand nephews.

His family recalls he was the kind of person who you could call on for help day or night and he would always say “I’ll be right there.” He had many friends and truly enjoyed them all. He especially love to hear their stories because he had some of his own to tell.

But perhaps his greatest joy was being able to help anyone who needed it.

He and his wife Fran were married for 37 years and have lived on Vashon since 1985.

The couple took in a grand nephew who was in need of a home six years ago. Before that, he took in his mother-in-law whose only family was her daughter. Without question, he knew what had to be done, his family says.

Survivors include his wife, Fran of Vashon, a grand nephew Ray Thompson of Vashon, mother Virginia Hadenfeldt of California, sister Joan Neely and her husband Richard of California, brothers Ervin and Mark Hadenfeldt, both of California, and his mother-in-law Jo Alongi of Vashon, two nieces, four nephews and nine grand nieces, all of California.

Services were officiated by Pastor Richard Neely, his brother-in-law, at the Island Funeral Services Chapel on Vashon on Dec. 9.