More than a few dozen people gathered at the Powell Fire Department on Thursday to celebrate the life of Gary Mefford. Mefford, known affectionately as Ferd, was a well-known Powell native, owning a machine shop, volunteering as a firefighter for 18 years and serving as a driver for the Powell Senior Center. He died last month at the age of 68.

Friends and family gathered outside the fire hall to honor and remember the former Marine, who was known to chew Copenhagen snuff, drink vodka and use colorful language. The tears and laughter came out as those who loved Mefford got up on stage to tell their stories, and he was given full military honors. Mefford’s daughter, Kassidy Love, was presented with the flag. 

“A true cowboy,” Mefford’s son-in-law, Benny Love, called him. 

Benny Love told the story of how he met his future father-in-law, when he and Kassidy were dating and living in Nicaragua. The couple came up to the states for doctor’s appointments and it was in the waiting room of a gynecologist’s office that Benny Love met Mefford for the first time. 

Love said he knew little of his girlfriend’s father other than he was a former Marine who broke his back riding wild mustangs. Being from a military family himself, Love figured courtesy and respect would go a long way to win over the man. After an introduction, the two waited for Kassidy to finish her appointment. 

“Just the two of us, sitting in silence,” Love recalled. 

Love flipped through a copy of Guns and Ammo, figuring it was what Mefford would want to see his future son-in-law reading, while Mefford picked up a copy of Us Weekly. Mefford read about some celebrity, then looked over to Love and remarked the star was a “dumbs—t.” 

“I knew then that the myth of the man I thought he was, was gone,” Danny Love said. “And the true, funny, goofball compassionate person who he really was, ended up being one of my favorite humans on this planet.”

Love then told the story, to much laughter from the crowd, of how he and Mefford went fishing off the coast of Nicaragua early one morning, after coffee “and of course a little bit of vodka.” 

On the boat, Mefford said he needed to use the bathroom, and Love told him to go
off the stern. Mefford indicated that woul-
dn’t work for his particular situation. 

“As uncomfortable as it was for him, he cowboyed-up and jumped in,” Love said. “I’ll never forget the look on Gary’s face when he saw a 7-foot dolphin 2 feet away from him, with his shorts around his ankles. And to make things worse, we told Gary they were sharks.” 

Mike Gimmeson, a high school friend of Kassidy Love and Mefford’s hunting buddy, shared his memories dressed in camouflage pants for elk hunting.

“He had one of the most contagious, honest smiles ever … He was like a father to me and liked when I called him pops,” Gimmeson said.

He recalled how Mefford ripped his “skin-tight Wranglers wide open” during a skiing trip to Red Lodge. 

Gimmeson also told of coming upon some skid marks in the road one icy night. He didn’t see any vehicles and so at first he drove on. Then, he had a hunch he should turn back and have a closer look. At the bottom of the hill, Gimmeson spotted Mefford’s truck, windows blown out, groceries, weapons and other belongings scattered around. Mefford was inside, slumped over the wheel, and it appeared he’d been there for hours.

“My heart sank … I thought he was dead,” Gimmeson said. 

He “ripped” open the driver-side door and Mefford lifted his head. Relieved that Mefford was alive, Gimmeson hugged him tightly. 

“Ferd looked at me with that classic, ‘What the hell’s wrong with you, boy?’” Gimmeson recalled. “He said, ‘Mikey, are you OK? I’m fine, Mikey.’ That was classic Gary.”

The speakers also talked of the many “Ferdisms,” as they called them — endearing idiosyncrasies that defined Mefford’s uniqueness. Among them was his firm belief that hats should be removed when sitting down for a meal. 

“Everybody knows, Ferd was a man of many hats, and I learned a little lesson about a hat, from Ferd, about 30 years ago,” said Greg Anderson. 

Mefford referred to Anderson as “Yock” and one day, he spotted Anderson sitting down to eat with his hat on. 

“He said to me, ‘Yock! What are you doing?’ I said, ‘I’m eating, why?’ He goes, ‘Your hat.’ I said, ‘What about it?’” Anderson recalled. “Now, Ferd had a very animated face — and I could tell right then, I was going to get my [butt] kicked if I didn’t take my hat off.” 

Anderson concluded his speech by taking off his hat one last time for Mefford. The bells were then rung to give Mefford his final honors.

(Editor's note: This version corrects Benny Love's name.)