EDITOR’S NOTE: While we realize that we first posted the news of Gary Bunzer’s passing on Saturday (April 18), we are repeating it today because we want to make sure as many people in the industry as possible learn of his death.
A close friend and neighbor of Bunzer, Chuck Woodbury, editor and founder of RVTravel.com, reported Friday afternoon (April 17) that Gary Bunzer, a 2016 inductee into the RV/MH Hall of Fame, died that day. Bunzer had been in a Seattle, Wash., hospital for several weeks while being treated for COVID-19.
Bunzer enjoyed a 40-year career as an RV technician and training specialist and has established himself as an expert educator to both the RV owner as well as the RV service professional, according to Bunzer’s biography in the RV/MH Hall of Fame. In the RV industry his name is synonymous with RV technical education and training beginning about 40 years ago with his self-created consumer questions and answers column, “The RV Doctor,” and its precursor, “Gary Sez.”
In 1976 he established Bunzer Consulting Inc., providing dealers with on-site classes and also as a featured speaker at industry-sponsored educational expos, trade shows, and national and regional consumer RV shows. He also was the first RV educator to write, produce, and direct specific RV service training videos and DVDs for the professional RV technician and the RV owner. In 2009 Gary was honored by RV Industry Association with its National Education Service Award for contributions to RV technical education.
Statement from RV Industry Association President Craig Kirby on the passing of Gary Bunzer, recipient of the association’s National Education Service Award in 2009 and member of the RV/MH Hall of Fame:
We are saddened to learn of the passing of Gary Bunzer. There was no greater champion for RV technical education. As an association we were fortunate to benefit from his service on numerous RV technical textbook review committees where he helped guide our education and certification efforts with his vast knowledge as an RV technician, educator, and training specialist. In his passionate work as the RV Doctor, he bettered the RV industry by making expert RV training instruction available to RV service technicians as well as RV enthusiasts through his popular website, seminars, books, magazine, and newsletter articles. Gary was also a Veteran of the U.S. military and was proud that he was able to continue publishing technical newsletters even while deployed, a testament to his boundless dedication to sharing his expertise and insight. Through his work, he became a respected mentor and beloved friend who deeply valued his relationships with so many in the industry, proudly sharing guitar pics emblazoned with his image. On behalf of our membership and staff, the RV Industry Association extends our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends.
What follows is Woodbury’s report of Bunzer’s passing.
Dear RVer friends,
It’s Friday evening, April 17, 2020. I have just learned that my dear friend Gary Bunzer, the RV Doctor, has died after battling COVID-19 for several weeks. I am devastated. Gary was my Seattle neighbor and one of my very best friends, and I know he was a friend of many of you, too. A nicer guy never lived.
Friday night is when Gail and I celebrate the end of a week, and another RV Travel Newsletter, with a bottle of wine. So, as I write this, late in the evening, I have had a couple of glasses, which normally means I stay clear of my computer for fear of writing something that might embarrass me. But I must write something now.
I can’t begin to tell you how Gail and I adored Gary — one of the sweetest, kindest men either of us have ever known. I can’t imagine him being gone. I can’t.
The photo above was taken a few years ago at a VIP party for the Hershey RV Show. It’s Gary, on the right, with Gail and our friend Chris Dougherty, the technical editor of Trailer Life and Motorhome Magazines. We are all good friends.
Oh, I will miss Gary terribly. And so will Gail, as will all our RV-media friends. I can’t even fathom not having him around. We have all looked forward every year to meeting up in September at the annual Hershey (Pennsylvania) RV Show, where we gather at the Bears’ Den at the Hershey Lodge to drink a little beer, eat greasy food, and catch up on our lives. Gary has been the person who always brought us together. Right now, I cannot imagine being there without him.
I am so sad for his family — his wife Debbie, his high school sweetheart and love of his life, and his daughters Gretchen and Heather. And his young grandchildren who brought him such great joy.
I will write more later, but right now I am too sad to write, and Gail is sad, and we need to begin to deal with the loss of our very dear friend. We’re sitting in our motorhome now, exchanging stories about our buddy, laughing, then crying and then laughing again and crying again, and so we go. Oh, my special friend, I hope we meet again one day.
More later, but for now this is all I can say.
