Gary Lynn Dove, Sr.

Gary Lynn Dove, Sr. of Northfork passed away on Tuesday, September 5, 2023 at his home.  Born on Sunday, January 15, 1950 at St. Luke’s Hospital in Bluefield, West Virginia he was the son of the late George Burns Dove and Evelyn Lorraine Green.  A lifelong resident of McDowell County, he influenced multiple generations through his community service, civic duty, and dedication to youth athletics.   He was a lifelong lover of learning and loved to tell stories, especially through his decades of newspaper writing, coaching, managing, and traveling around the entire state of West Virginia.  Whether it was finishing 5th place in the state for the Golden Horseshoe in 8th grade, receiving the American Legion award and elected “Mayor for a day” in 9th grade, best citizen recognition and top 10 of his class in 12th grade, getting inducted to the McDowell County Sports Hall of Fame in 2016 or getting recognized as a West Virginia Sports Legend in 2022 he earned recognition and respect.  He was Recorder for the Town of Northfork for a number of years, as well as President of the Northfork Fire Department. At the time of his death he served the community on the McDowell County Sports Hall of Fame, McDowell County Solid Waste Authority and McDowell County Library Board.  If you played sports in West Virginia, especially southern, he probably saw you play and followed up the game/match with a newspaper article.  He had an excellent memory and was a wizard with numbers, which served him well in his years as statistician for The Northfork Blue Demons.  He was ahead of the curve on using data analysis to assist with any endeavor.  He worked for Elkhorn Valley Distributing in Keystone during his youth and worked his way up the ladder to be General Manager of Elkhorn Valley Distributing in Welch before finishing up his professional career with Kraft Foods.   He served his country in the Army National Guard and retired from service after 21 years.

He is survived by one son, Gary Lynn Dove, Jr., and wife Stephanie of Charlotte, NC and one daughter, Misty Maciel of Kannapolis, NC, four grandchildren, Colin Dove, Leonard Aguilar, Christopher Maciel, and Sarah-Sophia Maciel.  He is also survived by one brother, William B. Dove of Princeton, WV.

A Celebration of Gary's life will be conducted on Saturday, September 9, 2023 at the Cravens-Shires Funeral Home Chapel in Bluewell from 10:00-11:45AM. A graveside service will follow at 12:00 Noon at Woodlawn Memorial Park in Bluewell with military honors by the Mercer County Veterans Honor Guard.