Gary Stephen Kula

Gary Stephen Kula. December 31, 1946 - July 25, 2021

Born in Owensboro, KY, the oldest of five children to Frank and Hattie Mae Kula, Gary is survived by three sisters, Mary Wiilmes (John), Therese Moseley (Mark), and Margaret Evans (Vic, deceased), and one brother, Frank Kula, and their families.

After marrying Boo! (Blake) Kula in 1968 (to whom he remained married at the time of his death) and serving in Korea with the U.S. Army during the Vietnam conflict, Gary returned to Owensboro to start their family. He is survived by daughter Megan Kula, son Dylan Kula (Robyn), grandchildren Caroline, Blake, Emmett, Harry, and one great grandchild Diana.

He continued building a journalism career, working for Owensboro’s Messenger and Inquirer, then in Columbia, MO at the Columbia Daily Tribune writing a weekly outdoor column. An avid wordsmith and history buff, Gary was a master of vocabulary and a wizard with facts, dates, and references.

Gary’s true passion was the outdoors. He hiked, camped, fished, hunted, canoed, and generally enjoyed natural wonder at myriad locations. Innumerable trout lost a battle with Gary Kula in New Zealand, Missouri, Montana, Chile, Kentucky, Russia, Arkansas, and points in between. Generally, they got a release reprieve, though occasionally they became a meal. A member of Trout Unlimited, Gary advocated conservation and appreciation of this wild, beautiful world. To honor his life, memory, and legacy: drop a line in a river, look for birds on a trail, pitch a tent on a mountainside, plant a tree, float down a river, and fight to keep wild places wild.

A gathering to remember and celebrate Gary is planned for friends and family at Rock Quarry House, 2002 Grindstone Pkwy, Columbia, MO 65203 from 5:30-9:30 pm on Wed. July 28, 2021.

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