Gary Wayne Ringwald was born November 22,1949 at the Mather Air Force Base hospital near Sacramento, California, to the late Dale and Betty (Van Buskirk) Ringwald. Gary passed from this life March 7, 2025 in Amarillo, Texas.

Growing up, Gary's Air Force family often relocated to bases in Texas, Oklahoma, Alabama, the Canal Zone in Panama, and Virginia. His mother was a piano teacher, and he began playing piano at an early age.

He graduated in 1968 from Ft. Hunt High School in Alexandria, Virginia, serving as a Congressional Page for one semester. He had a rock band called The Nomads.

He studied at Oklahoma State University and several other schools, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music Composition from OSU. Gary performed an original composition for his final.

For many years, Gary played the Hammond B3 organ in rock bands such as The Darkwood Error at venues throughout Stillwater and Oklahoma City. He continued to take classical piano and flute lessons as an adult. Gary played music, from classical to ragtime, by ear. Gary worked in music stores in Stillwater and Oklahoma City. Later, he opened his own music repair store in Oklahoma City.

In the late 1980s he moved his company, Ringwald Woodwind & Brass Instrument Repair, to Amarillo, Texas, to clean and repair instruments for the Amarillo ISD before retiring at the age of 68.

He was an avid fan of OSU football and enjoyed watching collegiate football games. He followed professional figure skating, frequented the symphony, and loved Alfred Hitchcock movies. He had two long-haired dachshunds growing up named Muffin, another later named Sunny, and a mutt named Dobie.

Gary is survived by a sister, Mary Ann Taylor (Dennis) of Corpus Christi, TX; a niece, Luna Taylor (West), of San Diego, CA; a nephew Chris Taylor (Lisa), of La Mesa, NM; three aunts, Val Sims of Stillwater, OK, Glenna Van Buskirk of Ripley, OK, and Evelyn Van Buskirk of Fort Lupton, CO; an uncle, Garland Terrel of Marble Falls, TX; a grand-niece, Makena; and a grand-nephew, Luke; cousins, and lifelong friends. A special thank you to Kruno Kupresanin for his help and kindness.