Gary Silva

Gary Silva
Card of Thanks

April 10, 2012
Columbus, GA- Gratitude is the one expression that gives others a view of your heart. We have the greatest gratitude and feelings of thankfulness for all the many expressions of love that were so generously shared with our family! Your cards, calls, visits, and emails lifted our minds letting us know how much you cared for Gary and our family. The overwhelming food and drinks kept our bodies moving forward when there was no way we could care for ourselves. Your prayers nurtured our tormented spirits in a way that opened up the power of our God to us. None of us shall ever be the same, but because of all of you, your strength will continue to grow and our spirits will be soothed! We can never repay your bountiful blessings, but we will continue to keep services to others in the forefront of all our lives, just like our Gary.
My Blessings to all of you,
Sara Silva and Family
He Was One of a Kind
When you were pinned, Gary Silva let you know about it.
With his distinctive style, the wrestling official from Columbus would leap up into the air, and when he'd land he'd slam his palm down on the mat, and everyone in the gym knew what that sound meant.
Silva came to be known as "Super Ref" because of his dramatic way of ending a match.
He was a highly-respected official who was in high demand at marquee events across the area, and he called a lot of matches in Troup County over the years.
Whenever Lagrange High hosted a major event, head coach Scooter Weathers always put in a call to his friend Silva to come officiate.
"Win, lose or draw, we knew we had the best one there was," Weathers said last week.
Sadly, we don't get the opportunity to see "Super ref" do his thing anymore.
Silva, at the way too young age of 49, died of a heart attack last week while in Columbus.
Silva, a prominent real-estate agent in Columbus, took great joy at being a part of high-school wrestling.
This was a man who you could tell had a passion for the job and wasn't just in it for a few extra dollars.
There was, former Troup coach Dariel Daniel said, no better "official in Columbus," and he called him "one of the best wrestling officials in the Southeast."
And as for Silva's dramatic way of calling a pin, Daniel said that "added escitement and flair to our sport."
Daniel also called Silva a "fine man and friend," and that "his passing is a tremendous loss to the wrestling world and the world in general."
Weathers was close to Silva.
The two weren't just colleagues, they were also close friends.
Weathers says they were "like brothers."
So when he got the news last week, it hit hard.
"He and I have been close since I was here (at LaGrange) in high school." Weathers said. "We did all kinds of stuff together."
Silva, a life-long resident of Columbus who graduated from the old Baker High School, has been officiating matches decades, and Weathers said he always made an effort to get to know the wrestlers.
"He always tool time to talk to them, and our guys respected him and loved him.," Weathers said.
Weathers said one memory stands out for him.
During last season's LaGrange Invitation, Silva was on one of the mats goofing around with Weather's son, Owen.
"My little one, Owen, was about 20- months-old, and he was laying on Silva's chest, and he said pin, and Owen leaned down and slapped the matt," Weathers said. "That night, we were on the floor playing, and he climbed up on my chest and slapped the floor."
Silva was, Weathers said, "one of the best men I've ever known in my life."
Those closest to Silva said he was dedicated to his church, Lighthouse Baptist, and that he'd been on mission trips with his church to Taiwan, Argentina and Peru.
He also was a strong family man who leaves behind a wife, Delaine, and three children, Sophie, Breanna and Chase.
Jeff Anderson, who grew up across the street from Silva, said his good friend "was like a ray of sunshine all the time. Just a good, solid family man."
Wrestling won't be the same without "Super Ref".
He will be greatly missed.