Obituary of Gary D. Geddie

(Gary) Don Geddie, 73, of Valatie, New York, died suddenly on November 1, 2020, at Columbia Memorial Hospital in Hudson, New York, due to a heart attack. Don was born in Grand Saline, Texas, to Ray and Bernice Geddie on April 1, 1947. After studying computer programming at the University of Texas, Don moved to Houston, and embarked on his career, leading to software development. In January 1977—one of the coldest winters on record—he and his future wife Kathy Johnson moved to New York City for adventure and new experiences, including learning to walk on ice. Don attended filmmaking classes at NYU, set up a photography studio in his Brooklyn brownstone apartment, and had a small business taking headshots of aspiring actors. Eventually, he moved back to software development, and photography became his beloved avocation. In 1981, Don and a partner started a successful Software Development firm, Mincron, with office space in the Empire State Building. This enabled Don and Kathy to "move on up to the East Side" of midtown Manhattan to a high-rise apartment a few blocks from the East River. They enjoyed hosting 4th of July parties that included spectacular close-up views of Macy's fireworks. In 1985, the success of Mincron allowed Don and Kathy to buy a home in beautiful Columbia County, New York. In 2009, they moved to the Washington, D.C., area where they enjoyed exploring new parts of the country and being near dear relatives. After Kathy retired, they returned to Columbia County to be close to friends. Don was an intelligent, kind, and proud family man with a dry wit. His family and friends appreciated him for his Texas BBQ and culinary talents, his killer skills in whiffle ball, the beautiful gardens he created, and most of all for his amazing photography. His daughters were inspired by and learned from Don's entrepreneurial skills. One of his many endeavors was barbecuing brisket to sell in NYC delis, including building a large oven in his basement to cook in. Before the Internet was ubiquitous with so many gathering sites, he created a site called Garden Town with different locations for multiple categories of communication. People gave and sought gardening advice from the Library and chatted about anything at the Gazebo. He also learned how to create sculptures from copper pipes, inventing and building a tool to bend the pipes. Don suffered from a degenerative eye disease, retinitis pigmentosa, which recently rendered him almost completely blind. Although he could no longer see well enough to take new photographs, he continued to work on printing his portfolio of photos to create photographs and cards. Don enjoyed traveling for as long as he could. He visited many parts of the United States as well as Australia, Canada, and the British Isles, where he explored his Scottish roots. He always brought back photographs revealing his unique vision. Daughters Deanna and Hannah appreciate the many movies he made of them, as well as his beautiful photographs proudly displayed in their homes. Don is survived by his beloved wife of 43 years, Kathy Geddie; daughter Deanna Geddie and her husband Jon Adams, who live in California; daughter Hannah Boutet and her husband Shawn who reside in Texas; granddaughter, Kasey Adams; brother Lawrence Geddie and his family in Georgia; sister Debra Geddie in Arizona; and many dear friends. In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Northeastern Association of the Blind in Albany (NABA), via link https://naba-vision.org/donate/, or to St. Peter's Presbyterian Church, P.O. Box 14, Spencertown, NY, 12165. Arrangements are with Raymond E. Bond Funeral Home, 1015 Kinderhook St., Valatie, NY 12184. Condolences may be expressed online at raymondbondfh.com.