Johnston, Gary L.

Gary was born on Tuesday November 30, 1943 to Charlie and Dorothy Johnston, and older brother Charlie “Pat” Johnston.  He had an active childhood where he developed a love for horses and fast cars.  His favorite horse was Ginger.  In his teens, and twenties he continued his love affair with cars and owned several popular muscle cars of that era.  Most notably his 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback.  After years spent raising a family, he purchased his dream car a 1997 Dodge Viper.  No one could be any prouder or take better care of any automobile!  After 22 years his beloved Viper is still in showroom condition with only 6000 miles on the odometer.  Gary was also an avid fisherman. He especially loved fishing for walleye at Bob’s lake in Ontario Canada.  He would routinely catch his limit while others would only catch a cold while fishing out of the same boat!  In addition, Gary was a NASCAR and NHRA Drag Racing Fanatic.  He attended numerous events at locations like Charlotte, Indianapolis, Talladega, Las Vegas, Michigan etc.  He could tell you virtually every detail of every driver, and often did.  He loved Dale Earnhardt, but his favorite driver of all time was Bobby Labonte who was the driver of the Interstate Batteries car owned by Joe Gibbs Racing.

His career began in 1958 as a mechanic at a small RV dealership in downtown Rochester named Atlantic Trailer Sales.  He was an amazingly talented mechanic, he was a carpenter, welder, electrician, and plumber.  After several years the location moved to the corner of Baird and Fairport Road in Fairport.  In 1969 he took his first career gamble when he left Atlantic and joined the newly established Bethany RV on Ridge Road in Webster.  During his time at Bethany his amazing work ethic propelled him from the Service Department, to Salesperson and eventually to General manager.  Although he often worked 12  hour days 7 days a week he NEVER forgot his family!  He would leave Bethany and drive to his home on Whalen Road in Penfield for dinner with his family EVERY night! 

It was always his dream to be his own boss and pass on an RV dealership to his family.  So, in 1988 he left Bethany RV.  With $3000 in the bank and a second mortgage on his house he purchased VanderMolen RV in Palmyra.  This impressive in any business, but utterly amazing given the high-ticket non-necessity aspects of the RV Business.   During his time in the RV business he was always a leader that was willing to do whatever necessary to make his customers happy.  He would often crawl under an RV with a suit and tie on to fix a customer’s problem.  He made it possible for thousands of customers to discover the wonders of RVing with family and friends.

With an incredible work ethic and the support of his family Gary’s dream came true when he sold Gary Johnston’s RV Center Inc. to his son in 2002.  In 2005 Gary had the pleasure of seeing his son purchase the former Bethany RV in Webster a fitting exclamation point to an amazing career.

In recent years he enjoyed the WARM weather winters of Florida at his house in Estero Florida with his wife (Sheila) and many family and friends.

Fairport – September 4, 2019. Survived by loving wife, Sheila; sons, Aaron (Bridget), Kirk and Brad (fiancee Tracy Brucato); grandchildren, Ian, Tyler, Kaiden, Jenna, Carly and Jace; many nieces, nephews, cousins and dear friends.

Calling hours Saturday, September 14, 2019, 4-7 PM at the Richard H. Keenan Funeral Home, EGYPT LOCATION, 7501 Pittsford Palmyra Rd., Fairport. In lieu of flowers please consider donations to the Brain Injury Association of NYS, www.bianys.org. For further info please visit: www.keenanfuneralhomes.com