Vida Damron Gary

Vida Damron Gary was born on March 2, 1913, in Mesa, Arizona and passed away September 29, 2012 at her home in Grand Rivers, Kentucky. Her parents were William W. and Dessie Stuart Damron. The family moved to Owensboro, Kentucky, when Vida was a child. Bill Damron was a pioneer in the oil business in Western Kentucky and discovered the Utica dome in Daviess County which produced oil for more than fifty years.

Vida graduated from Owensboro Senior High in 1931. She was President of the Rose Curtain Players, Vice President of the National Honor Society and Junior Editor of the "Owensboran." Following her freshman year at Randolph Macon Women's' College in Lynchburg, Virginia she met and soon married her lifetime partner, William E. Gary, Jr. of Hopkinsville, Kentucky. They started their life together in Hopkinsville but soon thereafter moved to Owensboro to join Vida's father and brother in the oil business.

Vida helped found the Owensboro Charity Ball and served as Co-Chairman of the Owensboro Chamber of Commerce Community Chest. As an associate with Laswell Gallery of Homes, Vida achieved sales of more than $1 million three years in a row, a rare feat in 1974. She and husband Bill later opened Antiques & Imports where Vida pursued her lifetime dream of collecting and dealing in fine antiques. Vida and her husband Bill were members of Trinity Episcopal Church, the Owensboro Campbell Club and the Owensboro Country Club. She was a member of the Ladies Golf Team which competed in Owensboro and other Kentucky cities.

Bill and Vida have three children, William E. Gary, III of Punta Gorda, Florida; Nancy G. McKinley of Alexandra, Virginia and David G. Gary of Gresham, Oregon; six grandchildren and twelve great-grandchildren. Vida was preceded in death by her husband Bill in 2002 and by her older brother W. Wallace Damron, Jr. and her younger sister Glendora D. Fields, both of Owensboro.

The funeral service for Mrs. Gary will be 10:00 a.m. Tuesday in the chapel of Glenn Funeral Home and Crematory, where visitation will be from 5:00 until 8:00 p.m. Monday and after 9:00 a.m. Tuesday. Burial will be in Rosehill Cemetery. Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to Trinity Episcopal Church.