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Conway-..Gary Pryce Baltis Jr. , 88, died Monday evening July 20 at Conway Medical Center. Born August 28, 1920 in Altus OK, he was the son of Gary Baltis, Sr. of Kansas City, MO and Marthe Beauchet Baltis of Chaource, France. The family returned to Kansas City from Oklahoma when Gary was very young, where he attended public elementary schools. He attended Westport High School and Kansas City Junior College (KCJC), graduating in June 1941. He attended the University of Missouri at Columbia until being inducted into the US Army in May 1943, entering into active service in June 1943. Specialized training programs included Civil Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana and Air Training at the University of Florida at Gainesville. Gary was assigned to the 259th Infantry Regiment, a unit of General George Patton's 3rd Army, European Theatre of Operations (ETO) until March 1946. He returned to the University of Missouri at Columbia and graduated in 1949 earning the degree of BS Civil Engineering. Following graduation, he was employed by the Army Corps of Engineers, working in District Offices in Kansas City and Philadelphia, and ultimately at Headquarters, US Army Corps of Engineers in Washington, DC. He retired from the Corps in 1980, after 32 years of service. His life-long love of the game of golf brought him to the Myrtle Beach area where he practiced what his father told him as a youngster: "Get up there and hit the ball as hard as you can". He followed that advice, and became a scratch golfer, winning many club tournaments wherever he played. He made sure his golfing pals knew he had five holes-in-one, three of them locally at Wild Wing and Burning Ridge Golf Courses. Truly a "straight arrow" golfer: no mulligans, no four- foot "gimmees," and no "hand mashies" from the bunker. He lived his life the same way. He was a wonderful husband, a good brother, and a true friend. He will be missed by all who knew him. He was preceded in death by two brothers, Jacques Baltis and Georges Baltis, and a half-sister, Helene Jault of Jeugny, France. Gary is survived by his wife, Dolores, of the home; three sisters: Jacqueline Natsch of Jefferson City, MO; June Power of Alpharetta, GA; Joyce Lott and husband Robert L. of Overland Park, KS; one brother John Robert Baltis of Burlingame, CA; one sister-in-law, Bernardine Baltis of Prairie Village, KS, and numerous nieces and nephews. A memorial service will be held 4:00 PM Saturday at Goldfinch Funeral Home, Conway Chapel with Chaplain Loren Bulla officiating. The family will visit friends after the service. Memorials may be sent to Mercy Hospice & Palliative Care, PO Box 50640, Myrtle Beach, SC 29579, or to a charity of one's choice. Sign a guestbook at www.goldfinchfuneralhome.com Goldfinch Funeral Home, Conway Chapel is serving the family.

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Gary Pryce Baltis, Jr.

July 20, 2009