Lt. Col. Gary Lee Hoebeke Ret.

The family would like to let all friends know that Lt. Col. (Ret.) Gary Lee Hoebeke, beloved husband, father, grandfather and brother, passed away peacefully at The Hamptons Senior Living Facility of Tyler, Texas on August 23, 2025. He was 84 years old. A Memorial Service will be held on Thursday, October 2, 2025, at Boren-Conner Funeral Home in Bullard, to begin at 1:00pm. Pastor Dan Seal will officiate the service. The US Army Honor Guard will provide/present honors.

Gary was born on December 24, 1940 in Fort Benning, Georgia, to Adrian Leonard and Madeleine Donaldson Hoebeke. He was the brother of Terrill Adrian Hoebeke. The son of an army officer himself, Gary and his family moved frequently, including a tour in Peru, where as a young boy he acquired fluency in Spanish.

After graduating from Columbus High School in Columbus, Georgia, he enlisted for two years in the army before attending Michigan State University. There he received his Bachelor's of Science degree in History and Economics in 1964. Towards the end of his military career, in 1987, he completed his MBA from Webster University.

As an ROTC graduate, Lt. Hoebeke was deployed as a platoon leader in Vietnam with the First Cavalry Division (Air mobile), which engaged in the first major clash between US and North Vietnamese Army regulars in 1965. There were heavy casualties on both sides. Hoebeke was wounded, and spent several months in recovery. Promoted to Captain, he served a second tour with Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV), a highly-classified, multi-service unit specializing in unconventional warfare.

Hoebeke's peacetime assignments included serving as a liaison officer to the Panamanian military and later serving as one of the "55" advisors assigned under an initiative of President Reagan to train and assist the El Salvadoran army in its fight against communist insurgents. Lt Col Hoebeke's last assignment was as Latin American Editor to Military Review at the Command & General Staff College in Leavenworth, Kansas.

In his 27 years of enlisted and commissioned service, Hoebeke received numerous awards and commendations, including the Purple Heart and Bronze Star for valor, but the award he wore most proudly was the Combat Infantryman's Badge.

After retiring, Gary and his wife, Pamela Kay Stockham Hoebeke, moved to Port Charlotte, FL, and then to D'Iberville, MS, before settling in Bullard, TX. In each community, he was always an active member and a good and helpful neighbor and friend. Wherever he moved, he stayed busy - running a computer business, serving as a part-time mailman, or repairing just about anything with his massive tool collection. He enjoyed boating and fishing and had a lifelong passion for restoring automobiles and motorcycles.

He was preceded in death by his wife, Pamela, his parents, son Jonathan Adrian Hoebeke, granddaughter, Sydney Miranda Haines and grandson, Nicholas Drew Hoebeke Haines.

Gary is survived by his children, Christopher Hyde Hoebeke, Kristin Anne Sheldon, Holly Beth Hoebeke Woodward and Pieter Gary Hoebeke and his stepsons Bryan Joseph Behrens and Jeffery Todd Behrens; grandchildren Rachel Elizabeth Hoebeke Antich, Amy Ruth Heilmann, Jonathan Lee Hoebeke, Alexandra Elizabeth Hoebeke, Corey Lee Hoebeke, Timothy Francis Sheldon and Theodore Winthol Sheldon; and great grandchildren Zelda Lillian Heilmann and Hadliegh Elizabeth Wells; and his brother, Terrill Adrian Hoebeke. He will be missed but is now in Heaven awaiting his arrival.

Please send floral contributions to Boren-Conner Funeral Home in Bullard.