Army Sgt. Gary A. Eckert Jr., 24, of Toledo, Ohio; assigned to the 983rd Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army Reserve, Monclova, Ohio. Andy died May 8 in Balad, Iraq, of injuries sustained earlier that day when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee in Samarra, Iraq. He married Tiphany Anne (Miramontes) February 28, 2003, in Toledo, OH. She survives along with children, Marlee Freedom, and Myles Manning; mother, Deborah Cieslak; father, Gary (Cathy) Eckert; father-in-law, David Miramontes; mother-in-law, Angela Miramontes; grandparents, Sherman and Veda Eckert and Mahlin and Beverly Carroll; brother, Ryan; sisters, Denise, Crystal, Jessica, Stephanie, and Alexandria, and special friends, Bret and Gwen Howland, Travis and Aubrey Repass, Redus and Jessica Thomas, Theresa Martin, Kris Howland, and Paul Matney. He was preceded in death by his great-grandparents, Donald and Florence Keys.
Army Sgt. Gary A. Eckert Jr., 24, of Toledo, Ohio; assigned to the 983rd Engineer Battalion, U.S. Army Reserve, Monclova, Ohio. Andy died May 8 in Balad, Iraq, of injuries sustained earlier that day when an improvised explosive device detonated near his Humvee in Samarra, Iraq. He married Tiphany Anne (Miramontes) February 28, 2003, in Toledo, OH. She survives along with children, Marlee Freedom, and Myles Manning; mother, Deborah Cieslak; father, Gary (Cathy) Eckert; father-in-law, David Miramontes; mother-in-law, Angela Miramontes; grandparents, Sherman and Veda Eckert and Mahlin and Beverly Carroll; brother, Ryan; sisters, Denise, Crystal, Jessica, Stephanie, and Alexandria, and special friends, Bret and Gwen Howland, Travis and Aubrey Repass, Redus and Jessica Thomas, Theresa Martin, Kris Howland, and Paul Matney. He was preceded in death by his great-grandparents, Donald and Florence Keys.
