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About Us
Gary Best and his wife, Tracey, are both originally from Northeast Ohio and wanted to live in the beautiful
community of Middlefield after he served twenty years and then retired
from the United States Navy. Mr. Best thoroughly believes in assisting
others in times of need so he became a licensed funeral director to serve
families during such times.
Tracey and Gary have three children between them. The eldest,
Brett, currently resides in Virginia
Beach, VA.
Audrey resides in Aurora,
but frequently comes home to visit. The youngest, Noah, currently attends
Cardinal Local Schools.
During his service in the U.S. Navy, Gary served aboard ships: USS
Affray, USS Leader, USS Adroit, USS Warrior (plankowner),
and USS Inchon; as a recruiter in Vermont and
New Hampshire; on a battle group staff position as the Damage Control
Officer; and as the senior enlisted leader of the Naval Reserve Center in
Akron, Ohio. He is a veteran of both Gulf Wars and provided assistance to
refugees during the Kosovo Conflict.
Gary began his interest
in the funeral industry in 1999 while stationed aboard USS Inchon in Corpus
Christi, TX. He
volunteered to work at a funeral home and it was during that time he
received his calling. During his final tour in the U.S. Navy, Gary volunteered to serve as the Command Casualty
Assistance Calls Officer for Northeast Ohio.
He served eleven military families during his tour. Since his time in Corpus Christi, Gary
has been involved with several other funeral homes in Ohio,
Virginia, Florida,
Pennsylvania, and North Carolina. He now intends to
bring the knowledge and experience he has learned to serve those in the
Middlefield area with dignity, compassion, and respect.
Gary is a graduate of
Granite State College, Excelsior
College, and the
Pittsburgh Institute of Mortuary Science. He is a licensed funeral
director and embalmer in the States of Ohio and North Carolina and holds a certificate
for “Counselor” from the Navy National Apprenticeship
Program. He is currently a member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in
Middlefield (Life Member), Moose International, Disabled American
Veterans (Life Member and previous Chapter Adjutant), American Society of
Embalmers, Embalmers Association of Cleveland, the East Geauga Kiwanis
International, the Middlefield Historical Society, and the Western
Phoenix Masonic Lodge #42 of Parkman.
Tracey is the Gifted and Talented Education and Advanced Language
Arts teacher at Chardon
Middle School. She
previously taught in Windham for six years
prior to relocating to Virginia with Gary. She has also
taught in North Carolina and Virginia.
Tracey graduated from Kent
State University
with a B.S. in Elementary Education, a Master’s Degree in
Curriculum and Instruction, and later obtained an endorsement in Gifted
Education.
We believe that during time of need, families need to rely on
dependable, trustworthy, and compassionate people. Through his life
experiences, Gary
has chosen this profession as a second career not because he had to, but,
because he chose to. That difference alone will help him serve family
members with the dignity and respect they deserve.
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