Jeff met Gary by phone in 1975 when he bought his first 300G, and met him in person in Seattle at the western 300 Club Inc. national meet in 1980. He became a colleague, but more importantly a very dear friend and we miss him terribly. In 2003, he reupholstered our 1956 Imperial, but made us swear that we wouldn't tell anyone about the Imperial until he passed away because he didn't want people clamoring for even MORE non-300 interiors :) He also did the interior for Lisa's Chrysler 300B, making it a joy to drive, and supported us with restoring many customer's cars. His shop in Kalispell was like a Chrysler candy store with treasures everywhere you looked - many that he had made himself. He was creative, hard working, deeply intelligent and funny. He was a giant of a man. Not just tall, but in his devotion to his craft and to the Chrysler 300 community. He was fiercely loyal to friends and family and loved Alana more than life itself. It is hard to imagine a world without Gary in it. Lisa & Jeff Carter

So sorry to hear this news. Amazing how many good things end too soon!
Marshall Larson

We knew this was coming, but it still sucks. Where would we be today without everything Gary did for us? I have two cars that wouldn’t be anything near what they are without Gary’s work and dedication to the cause and his friends.
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Danny Plotkin

Sad to read this about Gary.
Here’s a photo of Gary with Dave Clelland at Laguna Seca during the Carmel, CA, meet in 2011.
Ron Waters

Sad news but I think we all that knew Gary knew if was only a matter of time. Bob's post was the first I read today and certainly not a good way to start a day but it is life.
I first met Gary in the '80s when he still lived local and always found him helpful and very colorful. He was the go to guy for our cars and although sometimes slow he always came through. Even after he moved away I ordered parts and he would personally deliver them to me when down in SoCal on a trip.
The last personal visit with Gary was at the New Mexico meet where he had his black 300D and prior to loosing the leg. He was suffering but very upbeat and always had a smile and friendly words and that is the way I'll choose to remember him.
Gary, we will miss you and thank you for all you did for the hobby. Godspeed,
John & Christie Lazenby

Scott – Sorry for your loss and I know your Dad bravely fought through a lot of medical issues for years. Your Dad was so dedicated to restoration of Chrysler 300s and beloved by the 300 Club for his generosity, expertise and the parts that he made. I think there are few of our cars that don’t have Gary Goers parts on them.
Sam Cohen

Nicely said. I think all who had occasion to interact with Gary would feel the same.
Shannon Steele

After spending 12 days at Gary’s moving parts into trailers to haul back home Cheryl and I became quite close with the Goers family. Great guy and knowledgeable. I enjoyed every phone call with him asking him how to make a part or upholstery piece. His legacy will live on through Quirey and we are proud to be a part of this great club of passionate and amazing people. Prayers and condolences.
Dave and Cheryl Mihalko

What sad news. I first met Gary in '97 at a 300 Club Inc meet when he drove his freshly restored black D on it's maiden trip from Montana to Daytona Beach! Then in '99 he drove his Dodge Dart to the Carlisle, PA Meet where he had to seek out a gas tank replacement as his was leaking much of the way from Montana. Gary did both my '56 NYer convertibles and 300B interiors and provided me with numerous reproduction parts over the years.
It was always a great and funny time when the dynamic duo auctioneers of Goers and Tony Bevacqua got together to get top dollar for Mopar parts at the meets.
I sent Gary this cartoon below, (slightly embellished with his name) that appeared in Old Cars Weekly some 20+ years ago. So fitting; an F convertible and talking about its interior! He contributed so much for all our Mopars.
Sincere condolences to all his family and friends,
John Cote

Hi all, Truly a sad day for me and club members. I have so many memories of Gary. My heart is heavy for his lovely wife Alana and family. I strongly suggest the Club institute an annual trophy in his name to be given to the member who has contributed the most to the Club. Gary should never be forgotten.
Rest in peace Gary. Walk slowly down that eternal road for someday soon you'll hear us call your name.
Dan Reitz

Very sad news. Gary was always very understanding and helpful with our restorations. I think it’s safe to say that his spirit lives on in many of our cars and will continue to after we too have gone….
John: Nice to see this “Gary-ized” cartoon, originally penned for OCW by my Cornell roommate and fraternity brother, Jay Piesanti.
Rest in Peace, Gary.
Keith Langendorfer

So sorry to hear about Gary. As I am restoring my F I thank him everytime I reach for a part and thank him. Truly a car guy. Prayers to Alana and family.
Frank Messina

Very sad to hear about Gary’s passing. I first met him in person in 1981 at the 300 Inc club meet in Santa Cruz CA. I ordered a front seat leather kit and got them installed just in time for the meet. He told me it was the first set he made for the G. Our cars would not be restored to the level we now enjoy without Gary taking on the task of making parts for cars made in limited numbers. It was always fun to see club members at banquets send their dessert to Gary’s table to gain favor with the guy that made it all happen.
Bob Jasinski

Met Gary at a club show in Denver must have been late 80's to early 90's. Remembered he was under maybe a C or D that was being judged. After watching the judging process I decided always best to display only! Gary will be missed.
Rest in peace.
Gary Gettleman

I jokingly would say “Has anyone had a Gary Goers sighting recently?” Gary gave unselfishly to our hobby in spades. He was fair, honest, and factual in all his transactions. I think I did business with him for 7 years before being surprised one time when he answered the phone and chatted with him. He made you feel that you were the most important subject of the day! I finally got to meet him and Alana in person at the Spring, 2011 Meet in Carmel, CA. Gary drove his black D coupe. It was a great meet and special in that Jeff and Lisa Carter were present and I got to meet them in person for the first time! Gary will be missed and I am all in favor of creating a special recognition award in his name.
300’ly, Rob Kern

We're all feeling Gary's loss today. Of the handful of times I met him, his standout performance has to be his auctioneering tables full of period Letter Car and other Chrysler Corp. parts in a packed standing-room only meeting room at our 2014 Alamogordo Meet hotel, entertaining us all.
Noel Hastalis

I too must join in to express my sympathy on the event of Gary’s passing. Besides being a gentleman, he was an invaluable asset to the members of this club. You would look forward to receiving your package from him so you could hurry up and install it on your car to upgrade it a little bit at a time. I felt this way when I (and Henry Banach) received our 300 E interior sets ordered as a package deal. A Gary Goers Memorial Award would be a fitting way to ensure his legacy.
Guy Morice

My father - also named Ray Melton and an early member of the Chrysler 300 Club - contacted (snail mail and rotary dial phone!) young (~28) Gary Goers in 1973 about creating new seat upholstery and carpets for his recently acquired (but badly mistreated) 300C convertible based on Gary's already established reputation for recreating quality interior parts for our Letter cars. Dad drove his 300C from Albuquerque to Gary's home (then in Southern California), where Gary put him up in their home for three days while Gary cut and stitched all new leather for the F&R seats and made new black loop pile carpets. Dad came back home with a beautiful new interior and after another few years of restoration, went on to win over 3 dozen trophies at car shows across the country throughout the late 1970's and 1980's. After my Dad passed and I inherited his car around 2011, I set about rejuvenating the car that was very worn and wobbly from all its cross-country travels, relying heavily on Gary's catalog(s) of restoration parts that Gary had commissioned to replace the inevitably deteriorated original pieces. It was a delight to thumb through his catalog and find an obscure part that I didn't even know I needed until I looked and found it gone or ugly, so I placed at least a dozen sequential orders for parts as I discovered new needs during the five-year restoration process, finally ending in 2017. After corresponding and speaking with Gary for multiple orders during that time, we actually met at the 2014 Club meeting in Alamogordo, New Mexico, and although my car was not quite ready to take to that event, I showed Gary the 1973 invoice for his work on Dad's car over 40 years ago - it was handwritten for $980, including the parts and labor for the new seats and carpets! Gary remembered the occasion and remarked about what a nice guy my Dad was and chuckled at the cost of his work (would easily cost over $6,000 in 2024!) and said, "Yeah, that was pretty good money back then!" When the car needed a refresh of the interior during restoration in 2012-2017 we took it to an upholstery shop in El Paso, Texas where they fixed a couple broken springs in the front seat, replaced the foam padding and merely cleaned and reconditioned the 40-year-old leather - when they were done, it looked and even smelled almost as good as it was back in 1973!
All of us Club members are so fortunate to have had Gary and his inspiration, dedication and expertise in our lives as we continue our custodianship of these Beautiful Brutes for a succeeding generation. I just wish my Dad could be here to enjoy it.....!
Godspeed, Gary
Ray Melton

Hate to hear of Gary’s passing. Great guy and an asset to the 300 community. Prayers to his family…
Scott Taylor

I don’t have a huge history aside from miscellaneous items from the late 80s until I got serious with my L in 1999….it is/was his meticulousness and exacting nature that stands out in my mind.
His various catalogues in their own right were works of art with hand drawn illustrations of cross sections of various gaskets and sundry rubber snubbers - with so many versions - I can remember spending so much time carefully filling out the order blanks praying I didn’t miss something- it seems impossible to contemplate in view of todays computer world.
Then of course the “event” receiving the hand cut repurposed cardboard boxes containing the impeccably packed order…..with every piece beautifully reproduced. ….and the variety of admonitions about methodology on how to contact him (as in “don’t”).
He was an exacting artist who is responsible for my L reach completion -
Hank Hallowell

Very sad to hear the news of Gary’s passing.
I also had been buying parts from Gary since the days of Pico Rivera. He was a huge resource of knowledge and materials for our cars. He will be greatly missed by everyone in our hobby.
I spoke to him a few years ago and pleaded with him to make one more set of C300 front seat Leathers. He said he would talk to his stitcher and see if they could pull it off. A few weeks later he called me and said that they would be doing it and it would be the last set that they would ever do. They are now in my C 300 and look great and the fact that they're his last ones is even more poignant now.
When we spoke last he seemed very happy to be painting and looking longingly at the “big red checkmark”.
Jack Boyle

I want to share a bit about what Gary’s work and kindness has meant to me over the years. I was only 23 years old when I bought my 1962 Chrysler Sport. My Dad wasn’t a car guy—somehow my love of vintage cars came from nowhere. My parents and most of my friends were confounded by my insistence of buying and doing my own restoration work.
Not knowing what to do was the order of the day—every day. So in 1989, I took my 300 to the Long Beach car swap meet. I was told a very tall man named Gary Goers would be able to get me parts. I put a sign on my windshield—“Gary Goers I Need to Talk to You” and hung around looking for a tall man. Sure enough, eventually I saw a tall guy chuckle and look around. He looked very surprised to see a young woman and amused by my automotive fervor. From that day on, Gary was who I depended one for parts and information. I was honored to have his help—and still am.
He made me a Sport interior in leather—even though he didn’t do that. I might have the only one he made in leather. I would send him lists of parts needed--and he would send parts that I actually needed. I sent money as I had it and kept a running total of what I owed him—and I swore I owed him more than he thought. I sent my “proof” I still owed him $367 and he told me he was right no matter what my proof said. He insisted I stop sending him $50 whenever I had it to send, because he was right. So incredibly kind.
I called him excited, about fifteen years ago, that I bought a basket case 300H. By this time, work was getting tougher for him physically. I knew he had a backlog of orders for seat kits. I figured it would be awhile and I was in no hurry with three elementary school boys to herd. It wasn’t but a few months later—on Valentines Day—two enormous boxes arrived from Kalispell. He had made my seat covers—and included every part he could think of that I would need for the whole car. I called, so deeply touched and amazed he would do this for me. There was no invoice or list on what was in the boxes. I kept opening little bags with delight finding snubbers, and gee-gaws that only Chrysler lovers understand. It was the best Valentine’s day gift I have ever received—and my husband agrees.
Over the next few years—the Brody’s would call and explain what parts Gary had sent in their trailer to save me shipping—trunk kits, a bucket seat or two. He must have kept a running list of what that basket case was missing. I was always surprised he knew just what I needed.
Gary gave everyone in Chryslerland what they needed. It would have been impossible to restore and maintain any of these amazing cars without him, his work and his perfectionism. His work saved a corner of neglected corner of important automotive history. A “Goers Interior” meant a perfect interior and set the standard for Chrysler restoration and increased the value of every car he made one for. The myriad of essential little rubber parts—were key. And yet the low production numbers of these rare cars meant there would never be the demand to make money by volume. And yet he had the moulds made anyway and made the parts anyway. Gary was a godsend to all of us trying to keep these rare cars on the road.
I still haven't finished assembling the car—life gets in the way—but I made a point to call Gary from time to time for no reason at all and we always spent at least an hour on the phone chatting. We would complain about our unfinished projects—my H and his F. He knew that the F was my dream too (as Fs are my favorite letter car). We talked about his legs, veins and the process of aging. We talked and talked. He even called before he sold the business and asked if there was anything I still needed. I was so honored to have been befriended and cared for the last three decades by Gary as it I was his adopted daughter or little sister. He was a deeply kind and caring person. I will greatly miss him and that amused chuckle I heard every time I talked to him.
Jennifer Haynes Allyn

Send your thoughts and photos to bob@simplexco.com and I'll post them.