Gary Golston

Gary Everett Golston passed away peacefully on December 2, 2025, ending his earthly life two months after his 89th birthday.
At the time of his death, Gary was a resident of Parkview Healthcare Facility in Bolivar, MO. Gary lived in Bolivar for 4 years while receiving multiple services in the Citizens Memorial Hospital (CMH) system following a major stroke in November 2021. After the passing of his beloved wife of 66 years, JoAnn, in January 2022, Gary spent the majority of his time in Bolivar residing at Butterfield Residential Care Center as a next door neighbor to his sister, Evelyn.
Gary was born on October 3, 1936, in Sandusky, OH, with he and his twin brother Jerry being the 4th and 5th children in the family of Everett and Sibyl Golston. Having moved from Missouri so that Everett could seek work in the manufacturing plants of northern Ohio during the Great Depression, the family headed back to the Missouri Ozarks in 1941 when Everett and Sibyl bought a family farm near Macks Creek which they worked for many years. The family eventually grew to encompass 10 children, the older of whom (including Gary and Jerry) attended the nearby one-room Hickory Grove schoolhouse through grade 8 before moving on to Macks Creek High School.
Gary and JoAnn both graduated from Macks Creek, in 1954 and 1955 respectively, and were married on June 3, 1956, at Macks Creek Baptist Church. The couple lived for periods of time in Kansas City, central Illinois, and Columbia, MO, before resettling in Macks Creek where their oldest two sons, Steven and Mark, were born in 1961 and 1963. The family moved to St. Joseph, MO, in summer 1968, where their third son, David, was born in 1970. Returning back to the Lake of the Ozarks area in 1975, Gary and JoAnn lived the rest of their lives in Camdenton, Lebanon, and Bolivar. Gary's deep love for JoAnn was a model and inspiration for all that knew them, as he served as her primary caregiver during her long battle with Alzheimer's Disease for the last eight years of her life.
Gary was an avid and continual learner. His post high school educational endeavors spanned from periods of study at Southwest Baptist College and the University of Missouri to Midwestern Theological Seminary in Kansas City. Gary earned his Bachelors degree in Social Work in 1972 at Missouri Western State College in St. Joseph.
Gary was a devoted Christian, having made his public profession of faith at age 12. He was ordained as a Southern Baptist minister in 1956 and served the Gospel as pastor, co-founder, or elder in numerous churches throughout his life. Some of these included Macks Creek Baptist Church, Olive Point Missionary Baptist, Woodbine/Frederick Boulevard Baptist, First Baptist Church of Camdenton, Heartland Worship Center, Graceland New Testament Church, and New Covenant/Lake Area Evangelical Free Church.
Gary had many interests and an affinity for numbers which led to a wide variety of vocational and business involvements alongside the ministry. His first non-farm employment was with Black & Veach Engineers in Kansas City, after which he worked for several years as an auditor for the Missouri Farmers Association (MFA). Other positions he held included City Manager of Trenton, MO; comptroller for Sifers Chemical Company in Kansas City; founder of Golston Financial Services accountancy and tax firm in Camdenton; two successful startup businesses with wife JoAnn in Camdenton, Lakeside Office Supply (1978-2000) and Your Family Bookstore (2000-2009); co-founder of Leading Edge Insurance Agency in Camdenton; and in later life working several years as a Medicare insurance consultant and mobile notary until his 2021 stroke forced him into retirement.
Gary was preceded in death by his wife, JoAnn (Miller) Golston; one son, Mark Stuart Golston; older brother, Ward Golston, and twin brother Jerry Golston; sisters, Dolores Gagnier, Evelyn Golston, Barbara Smothers, and Glatha Hooper; and his parents, Everett George and Sibyl Irma (Eidson) Golston.
Gary will be missed and lovingly remembered by his two sons, Steven Scott and wife Cynthia (Jackson) of Oro Valley, AZ, and David Eugene and partner Daniel Sumile of Kansas City; three grandchildren, James, Mariah, and Joshua Golston; three sisters, Brenda Atkins and husband Doral of Birmingham, AL, Beverly Bonner and husband Henry of Bolivar, and Cynthia Sansom and husband Ray of Ozark, MO; sister-in-law, Mildred (Miller) Webster and husband Larry of Macks Creek; sister-in-law Verla (Roark) Golston of Frisco, TX; 25 nieces and nephews; and a very long list of great- and great-great- nieces and nephews.
Friends will be received from 1:00 pm to 2:00 pm on Saturday, December 13, 2025, at First Baptist Church of Macks Creek with Funeral Services following at 2:00 pm. Burial will be at the Macks Creek Cemetery. A family dinner will be held preceding visitation from 11:00 am to 12:30 pm at Southwest Camden County Fire Station #4, 62 Charger Dr., Macks Creek, MO.
IN LIEU OF FLOWERS, Gary's family enthusiastically encourages donations and memoriams be directed to one of Gary's lifelong passions, the Macks Creek Alumni Scholarship Fund c/o Board President Mildred Webster, P.O. Box 82, Macks Creek, MO 65786 or by contacting the school superintendent's office at 573-363-5909.
Arrangements are under the direction of Hedges-Scott-Millard Funeral Homes, 14384 West Highway 54, Macks Creek, MO 65786 (573) 363-5360. Condolences may be left online for the family at www.hedgesscottmillard.com.