5119 W., 155th St.
Oak Forest, IL 60452
Phone: 708.535.3716
email: [email protected]
The family remained in the apartment until 1957 when Stan and Carol and Walter and Zelma bought adjacent lots on 155th Street in Oak Forest, Illinois. Gary's grandparents had a new house built and Stan Jr. took their blueprints, reversed the floorplan and made several modifications, then built his and Carol's dream house. It was a true family project with all the Gustafsons and Andersons pitching in to help Stan in every detail except for the plumbing which was the only work "farmed out." Stan Sr. led in the bricklaying, Gary and Linda and all their cousins would also help by playing around looking cute for the neighbors, throwing mud and lumber cut-offs and getting into trouble like all kids are supposed to do at construction sites. On February 8, 1958, the big move into the new home took place and the family helped then, too, and BOY WAS IT COLD THAT DAY!
Gary then went to grade school at Arbor Park School in Oak Forest and grew up playing baseball whenever possible on the local vacant lots and finally on an organized little league team on the last year of his eligibility. In the fall it was football or basketball and in winter it was sledding and ice skating with a hockey game almost every day at the local swamp. He also developed his mechanical skills as most boys did by working on bicycles, rebuilding and combining different components into a decent bike which would then sit in the front yarad with a for sale sign. He also was a slot-car nut after receiving a Strombecker set for Christmas in the early 60's and then buying additional track to build a permanent 18' layout inthe family basement which remained there for 30 years.
Gary went to Tinley Park High School and was about the best behaved kid the whole school! Of course there was a reason...his dad Stan Jr. was then the chief custodian there and him mom, Carol, was the Dean's secretary, talk about incentive! While at TPHS, he was an average student grade-wise and enjoyed playing intramural volleyball and basketball, was on the varsity baseball team his Junior and Senior years and was a memeber of the drama club. In drama he used his construction skills at building sets and served on the backstage crew, eventually becoming a member of the Thespians. These skills were developed by helping his dad on side jobs, be it remodeling, building a room addition or one of Stan Jr's favorites: building and installing cabinets. Gary graduated from high school in 1968 and later that year his granmother, Laura Gustafson died of a storke. This would be the first time that two notable events occurred the same year.
After high school, Gary went to the local two year school Thornton Junior College which later became South Suburban College and is now attended by his daughter Sandra. He had hopes of getting into teaching initially, then computer programming. He worked summers throughout high school and college for the school district that employed his parents as a groundskeeper and on the paint crew until 1972. That year he started dating a gal he went to high school with, Kathy Quinlan. They met their freshman year of HS but never dated until she came back from college. As it turned out, Gary got a job working for Kathy's dad as a truckdriver that spring, eventually learning how to control one of those BIG RIGS forward or backward. His love life was in control too as he found himself engaged before the summer was over. But he later found out that marrying the bosses daughter isn't the way to the top because when the autumn slowdown came, Gary was the first one to be laid off, since he was the only employee who wasn't the boss' son! But it wasn't so bad as he then started working at WR Grace in Chicago in a position closely related to the computer department.
Kathy and Gary were married in February 1973 and rented a house in Oak Forest where they recruited Stan Sr. to do the tuckpointing which the landlord agreed was needed. Later that year Stan Sr. passed away at home frojm a sudden heart attack, again creating two notable events in the same year. While at WR Grace, Gary kept leaning more about the computjer aspect of business but it was not to be, however, as he kept an eye on the trucks as they backed into the blind dock, knowing that he could back that rig in much easier than these so-called professionals.
He remained at WRG until April of -74 when he couldn't stand it anymore and secured a driving job for Clark Transport hauling new automobiles to dealers throught the midwest. This turned out to be a natural for Gary as he became the #2 driver in most units hauled in his first year with the company, and that was in a field of about 60 drivers using one of the oldest most beat-up trucks in the fleet. He enjoyed his job and was good at it and made good money but something was missing...until September 5, 1975 when Kathy gave birth to Eric Stanley Gustafson. In 1977 Kathy and Gary bought their first family home in Markham, Illinois, about 3 miles from either set of grandparents and then Steven James Gustafson came along on July 21, 1979. Then 1980 began tragically with the sudden passing of Gary's dad, Stan Jr., who was stricken with a heart attack at home on February 12, but then the news was good on November 11 with the arrival of Kathy and Gary's daughter Sandra Marie Gustafson. As the children grew, Gary became involved with little league baseball again, this time as a father/coach/board member.
In 1984 Gary became injured at work when he slipped on an icy trailer unloading new Thunderbirds in Dearborn, Michigan, and wrenched his back in order to keep from falling onto the pavement in the path of oncoming vehicles. He was diagnosed with three herniated discs and was off work for two years undergoing a number of different treatments, but never surgery. His doctors recommended he not drive over the road again and in 1986 he went to work as a Prudential Insurance agent. This was O.K. for a couple of years, but he became restless, wanting to drive again or do something with his hands. He obtained a couple local driving jobs but the owners were "kinda shady" so Gary then went to work for a firiend who had his own construction company.
In 1989 Carol wanted to buy a condo and offered Kathy and Gary "first dibs" on the house that Stan had built, mainly because whe didn't want to have to clean out the 30+ years of accumulated junk. This worked out well as the offer was good enough that Kathy and Gary would not have to sell their home but could keep it and rent it out. Now the kids were happy as they would each have their own room and Eric claimed the entire basement for his as well as the pool table that occupied it. In 1992, Gary read that Homebase was going to open a store in Tinley Park wehre their company preident grew up. It turned out that Kathy and Gary went to high school withn the president, so Gary went to inquire about employment there and secured a position becoming the sales manager at the contractor's desk. This was again a position that fit like a glove but poor corporate management led to the store closing all its' midwest lcoations two years later. Gary then went to work for a local lumber yard for a year and then moved to Illinois Lawn Equipment in 1995 as their delivery driver/demo operator. That was another big year in Gary's life as his Mom, Carol, passed away from lung cancer in June and then he again became injured at work, this time assisting in a remodeling project. This was another spine injury but was treated with surgery as he had a disc removed from his neck and the doctor's removed a chip of Gary's hop bone to plug the gap. He returned to work after a year of rehab.
While he was off work Gary became a member of Iron Horse 4 x 4's, a four wheel drive club. This was so the two boys could go four wheeling with people that knew where you could go legally. Gary bought his first Jeep in 1975 and racquired several others over the years to eeep the old Willys going', then after Eric and Steve became old enough to drive they also got the Jeep bug and as a family now they own seven Jeeps and two Broncos. Gary eventually became the secretary of the club and was recently nominated to be the next president. The Jeep trips have been as far as Colorado and Tennessee but are mostly used locally.
Kathy and Gary were divorced in 1999 in a mutual agreement and Kathy moved back to the Markham house where she could keep an eye on her parents who now live across the street from her. Gary is still in the house that Stan built and Steve lives primarily with dad and Sandy primarily with Mom, but each has a bedroom at both locations, and Eric is living in Savannah, Georgia where he attends Savannah College of Art and Design.