Gary Lee Stroik Jr.

STROIK, Gary Lee, Jr., age 49, passed away peacefully, Friday, October 10, 2025 at his home in Swartz Creek, after a brave 7 month battle with pancreatic cancer. Funeral services celebrating his life will be held 11:00 AM Wednesday, October 15, 2025 at St. Mary Queen of Angels Catholic Church, 4413 Morrish Road, Swartz Creek, Rev. Fr. Louis Ekka officiating. Immediately following mass there will be an informal procession to and burial at Mt. Olivet Cemetery 3440 S Washington Rd, Saginaw, where he will be laid to rest next to his mother. Afterwards guests are invited to join the family at Harvey's restaurant 3055 Tittabawassee Rd. Saginaw. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Go Fund Me campaign in Gary's name. For those unable to attend, mass will be live streamed on the parish website https://smqa.net/ and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/stmaryqueenofangels - the FB version will be saved and may be viewed at a later time. Family will receive friends at the church 10:00 AM until the time of services Wednesday.
Gary was born December 10, 1975 in Saginaw, Michigan the beloved son of Gary and Sarah (Mackiewicz) Stroik. and then later due to his father's work moved to Kansas and North Dakota before returning to Michigan and setting up home in Swartz Creek. In high school Gary was an active member of both the track and wrestling teams as well as his church where he served as an altar boy. He was a Boy Scout from 1st - 12th grades where he attained the highest honors of Order of the Arrow and Eagle Scout. For his project, he engineered a giant multi-faceted lighted star to be used at the top of the bell tower at St. Thomas Aquinas Church during the holiday seasons. His troop traveled abroad and with them he visited Brazil and Russia.
After his graduation from Lansing Catholic Central, he went on to GMI/Kettering in Flint, Michigan. There he pledged Delta Tau Delta where he developed many lifelong friends. He graduated in 1999 with a BSME in Machine Design. He interned at UPS and recently celebrated 27 years as a Senior Product Engineer for Joyson Safety Systems. He specialized in engineering seatbelts and was granted 3 patents during his time there. He frequently traveled to Mexico, Germany, Poland and Japan to oversee production.
Gary was a loving son, brother, husband, father, uncle and friend and was a bright light in the eyes of all who knew and loved him. His passing at such a young age has left a huge void in the lives of all who were touched by him. Gary was a wonderful man, kind, loving and generous with his time and his talents. He spoke softly, gave great advice and was always there for everyone. He enjoyed spending time with his family where they worked together to operate Harmony Family Farm from their home. As a result, he was an eager volunteer for over 8 years at the annual Hometown Days Festival in Swartz Creek where he and his family would load up various farm animals and create a petting zoo. This is always a highlight of the festival with many community members looking forward to it. He also enjoyed annual camping trips with his sons.
Surviving to cherish his memory are his wife of 11 years, Angel (Brooks); children Nathan, Zachary, and Nicholas Stroik, Jacob (Tiffany) Brooks, Daniel & Kaitlyn (Marco Alvarez) Cadle and Caleb (Ashton Mitchell) Jones; grandchildren, Odin, Freya and Lilith Brooks, and Sebastien Alvarez; father, Gary Lee Stroik, Sr.; sisters, Jennifer (Ronald) Kramer, Mary Beth Stewart and Elizabeth (Chris) Basala; nieces and nephews, Emily (JD) Manning, (Goddaughter) Tiffany Jensen, and Joshua (Alyssa Potter) Bean; great-nieces and nephews, Cheyenne, Dakota, Landen and Max Manning and Jaxson Bean.
He was preceded in death by his mother Sarah and his mother-in-law Becky Brooks.
Although Gary's physical presence may no longer grace our lives, his spirit will continue to inspire and uplift us. May his memory be a blessing, and may we carry forth his legacy of love, kindness and compassion in all that we do.
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