Gary Richard Polen

Gary Polen Obituary

Polen, Gary Richard
69, of Mesa, AZ, passed away peacefully on March 10, 2011. Born June 23, 1941 in Omaha, Nebraska to Shirley (Brown) and Paul Polen, Gary spent his early years there, moving with his family to Phoenix when he was 12 years old. Gary had a long career as an engineer, retiring from General Semiconductor Corp. in 1992. He began his second career and fulfilled a life-long dream when he opened East Valley Mustang in 1998. His love of cars, new and old, combined with his immense knowledge and work ethic, came together in the business he built. His customers became close friends, and Gary was known throughout the State and Country as one of the foremost experts on Ford Mustang restoration. Gary was also a collector and history buff. He collected antique toys and nostalgic memorabilia. He lovingly restored hundreds of pieces to their original beauty. He is preceded in death by his parents, Shirley and Paul, and leaves behind fiancé, Alberta Staddon, two sisters; Jackie Jones (Jay), Sharon Smith (Mike), three daughters; Sandra Cantelme, (Pat) Lauri Zapata (Steve), Katie Thorner-Withers (Tom), and a son, Keith Evans (Sara). He is also survived by 13 grandchildren; Jaime, Jennifer, Patrick, Kaitlin, Lindsey, Daniel, Gavon, Mason, Rylon, Aydon, Tegon, Clayton and Jace; three great-grandchildren; Landon, Caden and Brysen, and three nieces; Shannon, Kimberly and Stephanie. . A celebration of Gary's life will take place on Saturday, April 9, 2011 at 11:00 a.m. at First United Methodist Church of Gilbert, 331 South Cooper Road, Gilbert, Arizona. Please join us in our celebration, followed by a reception where we look forward to reminiscing with all of you and hearing stories of the time you shared with him. Gary was a wonderful father, brother, grandfather, uncle, great-grandfather, friend, mentor and life partner. In honor of Gary, we invite you to drive your Mustangs or Collector Cars to the church. There will be a designated section of the parking lot set aside for your beautiful cars. Gary would love to see his family and friends gathered for one last car show, and we hope to see you there. Please share your memories and condolences by visiting the online guest book at: www.hansenmortuary.com. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Hospice of the Valley, whom we thank sincerely for their kindness and compassion.

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Published by The Arizona Republic from Mar. 27 to Apr. 3, 2011.

Memories and Condolences
for Gary Polen

5 Entries

Michael Voels

April 5, 2011

Although he would never admit to it, words cannot adequately describe how deeply Gary touched my life in the two years that I knew him. During such a short time, he became my mentor, my colleague, my teacher, and most importantly, my friend. He could make me smile no matter how bad things seemed and always used his knowledge, wisdom and wit to make everyone's day just a little bit better than it had been earlier. Since his passing, I know my life has been a far emptier and sadder place without him; however, I also know that I am a far richer person for having known Gary. My deepest condolences go out to Bert and all of Gary's family and friends.

April 4, 2011

Gary was a cousin

"Do you sell individual lug nuts?"

Dave Hofman

March 30, 2011

The very first time I met Gary we hit it off. Not surprising. He was a wonderful person. He actually cared about people, not just running a business. We both shared the same kind of dry humor, at times bordering near sarcastic. We always new we were joking. His mustang knowledge was unmatched. Amazing how many times I just would drive over on my way home and hang out. One day I brought him a gift of a matchbox car of one of his convertible mustangs. It was neat how a simple toy car could light up his eyes. Whenever I called, before he figured out who I was, I would always start by asking "Do you sell individual lug nuts?" It became my standard greeting. He was a great person and an awesome friend. He wil be greatly missed. My sincere condolences to Berta and the family. Dave Hofman

Allie Johnson

March 28, 2011

Sorry about the lost of your loved one. No matter how long a person lived when they die it is the hardest thing for those who are the survivors to deal with. The love