Gary Wayne Burnau

Gary Wayne Burnau, 76, was born on July 2, 1947, to Don and Martha Johnson Burnau in Huntington.  
He passed away on July 27, 2023, at 12:23 a.m. at Lutheran Hospital, surrounded by his loving family sharing stories of Gary’s adventures. On Jan. 28, 1984, he married Marthene Fullhart, the love of his life.
He graduated with the class of 1965 at Warsaw High School; he was a member of Warsaw’s undefeated football team. He was catcher for many fast-pitch softball teams in the area for many years. Gary served his country as an Airborne Ranger with over a 100 parashoot jumps. He missed going to Vietnam three times.
Gary worked in concrete construction all his life and owned Burnau Concrete Construction from 1984 to 2010. In the past few years he has enjoyed being a bulldozer operator for Good Excavating.
Last year, he and Marthene built their dream home on a lake, doing much of the construction work themselves. He loved to just sit on the deck and look at the lake. He was an avid fisherman and enjoyed telling friends and family his “fishing stories,” and stories about many other seasons in his life.
He rode with the Mizpah Shrine Horse Patrol in the Rose Bowl Parade in 2001. He was able to sponsor several children for the Shriners Hospital and was proud of that accomplishment.
He was a master gardener and loved to watch the hummingbirds from his chair. He was on the Laketon Area Sewer Board.
Gary and Marthene traveled whenever they had the opportunity, always eager to explore new places.
Gary had a fast a 1966 Chevy II as a teenager and was known to drag race every once and while and won a few. He recently built a 1966 Chevy II that he was quite proud of. He also had a 1963 Studebaker Lark Convertible that he and his brother-in-law loved to tinker on. He had a great time taking the cars to car shows and won many prizes with them.
Gary is survived by his wife, Marthene; lady dog; daughter, Juli (Gary Vardaman), Leo; sister, Teresa Evans, Alexandria, Va.; brothers, Donovan (Martha) Burnau, Burns, Tenn.; and Jim (Aggie) Burnau, Yuma, Ariz.; grandchildren Katie Caldwell, Mallory (Tom) Keough; six great-grandchildren and many nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his parents and brothers-in-law, Jim Fullhart and David Evans.
A visitation will be held on Friday, July 28 from 5 to 7 p.m. at McHatton-Sadler Funeral Chapel, Warsaw, with Masonic Rites at 7 p.m.
Gary’s funeral service will be held at the First Christian Church, 115 Park Ridge Drive, Warsaw, on Saturday, July 29 at 10 a.m.with Pastor Matthew Rogers officiating. Burial will follow the service at Oakwood Cemetery with military honors.
Memorial donations may be made to Kosciusko County Community Foundation, c/o Bott Science Scholarship Fund, 102 E. Market St., Warsaw, IN 46580.