CSM Gary Lynn Boone (Ret)

Command Sergeant Major Gary L. Boone, USA, Ret., age 84, died at his home on the morning of December 15, 2024, after a sudden decline in health.

CSM Boone was born on August 6, 1940, in the small town of Bowie, Texas, as the world teetered on edge of what would become World War II. 

His parents were Glenn Boone and Edith Staats Boone, and they took him home to the Boone homestead in the little village of Sunset, Texas (population about 300), to live in the house that Gary’s grandfather and grandmother, Charlie and Zula Boone, had worked hard to make into the most attractive little home that they could afford.

The Boone household consisted of Gary’s grandfather and grandmother, his father and mother, and his older sister, Norma Berneice, who 5 years old when Gary was born.

Gary attended elementary school at the little school in Sunset, which educated students from first through eighth grades, two grades per classroom, one teacher for every two grades.

He joined the U.S. Army at the tender age of 17, the Army being the best possible option for him to escape a life of poverty and hardship. By that time he had become a big brother to his sister, Deborah Sue, born in 1952.

A small-framed, non-athletic teenager, he survived the brutality of boot camp and, eventually, 2 tours in Vietnam. That second tour almost cost him his life.

While stationed in Nuremberg, Germany, in the 1960s, he met and married his beloved wife, Erika, and together they raised two daughters, Sandi and Claudia.

While living in Germany, Gary began a physical-fitness regimen that he would follow for years, that of preparing himself to become a marathon runner. He began by participating in the long walks called the Volksmarch and then proceeded to train as a long-distance runner. He participated in numerous marathons after his return to the U.S., and he continued his running on a regular basis until his health began to fail in the final years of his life.

He has been awarded more medals than most soldiers ever receive. His medals aren’t listed here, because there are so many of them that one might accidentally be omitted, and more importantly, because Gary would not approve of such a list being made public. Like most real heroes, he never boasted of his medals and, in fact, rarely spoke of them, except reluctantly, in answer to a direct question that he couldn’t avoid.

His love of country, determination, and courage led to his receiving the rank of Command Sergeant Major, a rank rarely achieved by enlisted personnel.

After retiring from the U.S. Army in 1987, Gary obtained his teaching certificate from Fayetteville State University and began a second career as a public-school teacher, focusing on children in the elementary grades. 

He joined the staff of Luther “Nick” Jeralds Elementary School in Fayetteville in 1993. As dedicated to his teaching as he had been to his soldiering, he was awarded the Outstanding District Educator Award for North Carolina PTA District 10 and served as an active member of the Fayetteville PTA and on its Executive Board. Gary was recognized by District 10 for his efforts to find “innovative ways to make his teaching more interesting and informative” and for being “an outstanding role model for students and fellow educators.”

Upon retiring from his teaching profession, Gary devoted himself to his wife Erika and their children and grandchildren.

Erika preceded him in death in 2019, and he is survived by his family members: daughters Sandra Boone Stitt of Fayetteville and Claudia Boone Miller of Highland Falls, New York; Sandi’s family, Husband Velvin Stitt and children Shaneen and Dale Stitt ,Claudia’s family, Husband Gregory Miller children Brandee Taylor and Kristen Miller Cutaia; his great-grandchildren Kameron Stitt, Ava Riveria, Christian Taylor, Joshua and Skyler Cutaia; and his sisters, Norma Boone Hill of Wichita Falls, Texas, and Deborah Boone McKenzie, of Fort Worth, Texas.

A Visitation will be 12:00 -1:00 PM Friday, December 20, 2024 at LaFayette Funeral Home, 6651 Raeford Road, Fayetteville, NC 28304.

Funeral Services with Full Military Honors will follow at 1:00 PM at LaFayette Funeral Home.

Graveside Services will be 12:00 PM Thursday, January 9, 2025 in Sandhills State Veterans Cemetery, 8220 Bragg Blvd Fort Liberty, NC 28307.

Arrangements for the family are entrusted to LaFayette Funeral Home of Fayetteville, NC. On-line condolences may be made at www.lafayettefh.com