Gary McKelvie was a devoted Pa, who adored his grandchildren and was determined to turn them all into petrolheads as well. Photo / Supplied
Gary McKelvie was a devoted Pa, who adored his grandchildren and was determined to turn them all into petrolheads as well. Photo / Supplied
Local business owner Gary McKelvie, a man with a big personality and a huge heart for his community, sadly lost his four-year battle with prostate cancer earlier this month, at the age of 70.
Gary was farewelled with a laughter and memory-filled service at the Salvation Army Centre, followed by a last 'shout' at his favourite watering hole, the Levin Club.
Born in Levin in 1951, Gary attended Levin School and Horowhenua College, excelling in hockey and tennis, then got himself an apprenticeship as a mechanic at Wrightcars Levin at age 15.
This kicked off Gary's 55-year 'petrolhead' addiction, which saw him start to race stock cars at Speedway in the 1970s, moving on to saloon cars and then muscle cars.
Gary began his mechanics career with Wrightcars Levin, which set him up for servicing his own vehicles over his 50 years of racing. Photo / Supplied
In the early 1980s Gary moved over to a sales role at Wrightcars, and, as daughter Kelly said, "selling cars and doing deals was his happy place".
Marrying wife Christine in 1982, the couple went on to have two children, Troy born in 1984 and Kelly in 1986.
In 1991 Gary purchased Wrightcars (now known as Horowhenua Motor Company), in partnership with two other local men, Mike Hurley and Carey Gapper. Then in 2008 Gary and wife Chris took over the business.
Being a man of high work ethics, Gary worked six days a week his whole career, even going back into the office after his chemo treatment in the early days of his cancer battle.
Gary was a petrolhead since the 1970s - racing stock cars and saloon cars in speedways around the country. Photo / Supplied
Although Gary was a hard taskmaster, expecting staff to work to the same standards as himself, wife Chris said the majority of employees were long-term and all very loyal to the business.
"They were all hugely supportive [during Gary's battle], keeping everything running smoothly," said Chris. "They're basically family and treat the business like it's theirs too."
Gary chose to keep his fight with cancer fairly private, only sharing that information with close family until the later stages, and continued to live his big life – golfing, racing cars and catching up with friends for a bevy or two.
Life-long friends were a big part of Gary's world, many having been around for 35-40 years, with a number of them sharing memories at the funeral service - rugby games, tennis tournaments, car racing and good sessions at the Levin Club being a common feature.
Gary and Chris McKelvie celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary only two weeks before Gary lost his battle with prostate cancer. Photo / Supplied
Giving back to the community was also very important to Gary – Horowhenua Kapiti Rugby Union CEO Corey Kennett shared how HMC had been a major sponsor of the union for over 20 years.
"He was what we call a 30 second sponsor ... it would only take a 30 second phone call to Gary for him to say 'yup - we're on'," said Corey.
According to Corey, Gary was an ever-present fixture at home games, regularly accompanied by his 'Last of the Summer Wine' rogues gallery of mates.
"Gary epitomised what it meant to be a community man ... he had a genuine interest in supporting local organisations ... didn't do that for monetary reward or recognition [but because] he was one of life's good buggers," said Corey.
During the service, the family spoke of Gary's pride in his gardens at home – taking them from bare paddocks to a level that meant two family weddings were held on the grounds.
To reflect this love, people attending his funeral were encouraged to place leaves from his beloved camellia trees on his coffin as it rested in the back of the hearse after the service.
Gary's passion for car racing was at the forefront of the day as well, with his muscle car parked out the front of the Salvation Army Centre and his coffin painted the same burnt orange, with his race number emblazoned on the front.
No 62 was the first number issued to Gary when he started racing stock cars back in the day, according to wife Chris.
"It was [also the number] he picked for any raffles ... even managed a few wins on it too," she said with a laugh.
Chris really had no idea where the car colour preference came from, as earlier saloon cars were yellow, but she shared that Gary had a golf cart painted burnt orange with black leather seats that had an orange trim as well!
Gary participated in his final Speedway race event in October 2021, at the Manfeild motorsport circuit in Feilding.
"He only managed two of the three races he was entered in," said Kelly. "Racing is very physically exhausting and [his ongoing treatment] meant he didn't have the energy."
Another passion of Gary's was his six grandchildren, whom he absolutely adored, and he was determined to turn them all into 'petrolheads' as well.
He spent hours on Trade Me sourcing go-carts, in both working and non-working order, so the grandchildren could build and race their own as they grew up.
This obsession with Trade Me led to the family acknowledging that not only was Gary a hoarder who never threw anything away just in case it could be used for parts, but that the website was probably also in mourning due to a huge drop in sales since Gary's passing.
Despite Gary's determination to beat his illness, and his hope that a miracle cure would be found, two weeks after celebrating his 40th wedding anniversary with Chris, and four years to the date after his initial diagnosis, Gary passed peacefully, surrounded by his family.
GARY WILLIAM ALFRED MCKELVIE 20/08/1951-11/07/2022
