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News Item: Death of a Great Missionary.
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Dale Patrick Garlick
Friday, August 27, 2004
A funeral will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 28, 2004, in the Portland Stake
Center of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for Dale Patrick
Garlick, who died Aug. 24 of cancer at age 23.
Mr. Garlick was born Feb. 17, 1981, in Medford, and moved to Portland in
1991. He graduated from David Douglas High School in 1999, and was an Eagle
Scout with Troop 719.
Survivors include his parents, Don and Barbara; brothers, Michael S.,
Phillip D. and Samuel R.; and sister, Tanya M.
Arrangements by Family Memorial.
Below is some more information on our brother that has been called home.
Life marked by challenges, defined by grit
Dale Garlick faced cancer as he had every other obstacle, with
determination and the belief that he would prevail
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
JOAN HARVEY
Dale Garlick was a fighter. Everything he achieved he had to fight for, and
he achieved much in his short life.
Despite a learning disability, he graduated from high school and became an
Eagle Scout. He had good, close friends, brothers and a sister who adored
him, and he was becoming a leader in his church.
Dale was never diagnosed with dyslexia, but the pictures he drew as a child
were backward and he had a difficult time learning to read.
Dale was born in Medford. The family fell on hard times after companies his
father, Don, worked for closed.
Don and Barbara, Dale's mother, worked at a series of jobs to scrape
together money to raise five children. The five are disparate in learning
abilities, from talented and gifted to different disabilities. The family
moved back to Portland hoping to find a better job market.
When Dale entered Mill Park Elementary School, he was put into a special
classroom. He struggled fiercely and with Barbara's help managed to work
himself into the mainstream program, although it was a greater struggle.
Along the way, he developed an interest and talent for computers.
When Dale was about 7, his older brother, Mike, 14, started working for his
Eagle award. Dale became Mike's shadow, trying in any way he could to help.
He decided to be an Eagle Scout, too.
Dale joined Troop 719 in the family's Cherry Park Ward of the Latter-day
Saint church.
He worked hard on his merit badges. The first ones, for swimming, camping,
forestry, canoeing and bicycling, fit directly into his passion for the
outdoors; later ones, were more difficult for Dale. But by sheer
determination and cussed hard work, he earned badges for personal
management, citizenship and family life.
For his Eagle project, Dale developed a computer program for his church to
help people find jobs on the Internet.
Dale went before the grueling review board in March 1999 and passed with
flying colors. On June 9 that year he graduated from David Douglas High
School and on June 26 he was awarded his Eagle badge.
After high school, Dale worked for the Circuit City warehouse. It was a job
he loved; it was active and didn't require more reading than he felt
comfortable with.
In November of 2001, Dale left for Knoxville, Tenn., to fulfill his church
mission. Besides proselytizing, Dale did a lot of service work, cleaning
yards, chopping wood, roofing houses, helping people get to medical
appointments.
He was cut off from his family; no e-mails are allowed and telephone calls
are permitted only on Christmas and Mother's Day. Letters are allowed, but
that was a difficult medium for Dale.
Fourteen months into his two-year commitment, Dale started having health
problems. Tests showed a gigantic mass on his kidneys. He was sent home,
had extensive surgery, chemotherapy and radiation and seemed to get better.
But just before last Christmas the cancer returned.
Dale fought the cancer just as he met every other challenge. He never
stopped believing he would conquer it. He dropped his dreams of joining the
military but investigated new treatments for dyslexia and filled out
paperwork for college financial aid. He worked to overcome his awkwardness
with women and start dating.
He helped his younger brothers, Phillip and Sam, attain Eagle Scout. And he
helped his church genealogy computer project.
He became reacquainted with Mike and confided to him that he'd been plagued
by depression before going on his mission. Even though he had achieved so
much, he always felt stupid because he was treated that way by so many
people.
He loved root beer, pizza and hamburgers, all kinds of music and watching
DVDs, especially old MASH episodes and the original Transformers, G.I. Joe
and Jetsons cartoons. He asked for pumpkin pie instead of cake for his
birthday.
When the going got rough, his younger brother, Phillip, became his
caregiver. Dale dubbed him "Dr. Phil." Phillip slept on the floor by Dale's
bed every night.
Dale died Aug. 24, 2004, at age 23.
His Web site talks about cancer "putting a hold" on his life, about his
friends going on to marriage and college.
Another page on his site ends with three quotations, the middle attributed
to Arnold H. Glasow: "Nothing lasts forever not even your troubles."
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| LDS QUOTE: |
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"You are a great army of returned missionaries. Go forward with new zeal and determination, and through your example shine the light of the gospel in this troubled world. This is the Lord’s work in which we are engaged. God lives. Jesus is the Christ. We belong to His Church. This is my witness to you in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."
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