Barreau, Gary B age 67 of Mauston

Gary B Barreau, 67, of Mauston WI passed away unexpectedly on Sunday May 24 at UW Hospital in Madison WI due to a heart attack.  Gary was born in Mauston on November 20, 1952 to Bernard and Rita (Gavin) Barreau.  Gary grew up with his siblings on his parents’ farm on Townline Rd where he gained many life-long friendships among the residents of the Seven Mile Creek township and surrounding community.   He graduated from Mauston High School in 1970 and married Lynne Trenshaw in 1975.  Gary tried his hand at many different careers including farming and feed sales.  Through the years he traveled the entire state of Wisconsin selling his own line of feeds under the name “New Era Feeds”.  In his travels he made innumerable connections, partnerships and friendships that have lasted until this day.  He eventually couldn’t deny his love of the land anymore and decided to return “home” to Mauston to try his hand at farming.  He spent many happy hours in a John Deere.

Gary married Carol Casper in 2005.  Carol sparked a sense of adventure in him and he developed a love of travel.   Once Gary retired he cherished having the free time to travel and explore the country.  He bought his dream car and used it to travel extensively.  He loved going to Florida to see friends and enjoyed spending time on the beach near the ocean.  He loved trying new restaurants and foods and everywhere he went he managed to make a new friend.

Gary was incredibly charming, witty and funny.  He loved to tell a good joke and appreciated one as well.  He was the king of the “one-liner” and always had a smart remark.  He had a sarcastic, self-deprecating sense of humor; he believed “if you can’t laugh at yourself who can you laugh at?”  In his younger years he was given the nickname “Colonel” which stemmed from a pair of awful pants with “racing stripes” that his mother had bought him.  Some people would have been embarrassed to be given a lifelong nickname based on a poor wardrobe choice but he embraced it in true Gary fashion and made it his own.

Gary was also a man of strong faith.  He grew up in the Catholic church and firmly believed in the power of prayer.  He was very well-read and interested in history and politics and spent many hours discussing the world’s problems and how to solve them.  He never subscribed to the belief that you should not discuss religion or politics in polite company.

Gary loved music.  He adored Bob Seger and was able to attend a few of his concerts which he enjoyed very much.  He also had a passion for old school country music.  Many of his best days were spent plugging money into the juke box and singing along to Springsteen, Seger, Hank, Waylon and Johnny.

Gary was a very loving father who worked extremely hard to provide a better life for his children.  He loved them fiercely and unconditionally and strove to teach them to live life to it’s fullest despite all of it’s challenges.  He worked hard and played hard and set a great example in terms of work ethic and reaping the benefits of that hard work.

Gary is survived by his children Nicole (Shaun) Bellock of La Valle, Scott (Patrice Martinez) Barreau of Mauston, Brian Barreau of New Lisbon, and Lacy Hanson of Madison; step-children Glen (Selena) Casper of Black River Falls and Kim (Joe) Tomlinson of Scottsdale AZ; his siblings Michael (Crystal) Barreau, Allen (Debra) Barreau, Collette Barreau (all of Mauston) and Colleen Barreau of Richland Center; numerous nieces and nephews and his grandchildren Amara, Aliya, Grace, Grant, Cole, Devin and Alexa.  He was preceded in death by his parents Bernard and Rita, his sister Yvonne and his wife Carol.

Funeral arrangements are being attended to by immediate family.  There will be a gathering to honor Gary in the near future.  Any correspondence may be sent to Nicole Bellock at E3616A Green Valley Dr La Valle WI 53941. 

For online condolences please go to www.crandallfuneral.com

 

Source: WRJC.com

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