South Vermont News

From today's Caledonian-Record - What an incredible man Gary Ely was...

GARY ELY DIES A DAY SHY OF 69TH ANNIVERSARY OF FIRST WORK DAY AT CAPLAN'S STORE 

BY DANA GRAY

Staff Writer

In a way, Gary Ely died with his wish fulfilled.

Death was the only thing that could separate him from his beloved Caplan’s Army Store.

The long-time employee at the Railroad Street, St. Johnsbury store died Monday morning from heart-related issues. He turned 85 years old earlier this month. Today marks the 69th anniversary of Ely’s start at the store.

When he reached the 60-year employment milestone at Caplan’s back in 2013, he said he wasn’t interested in retirement. He said his only dream was to keep on working at Caplan’s.

“The truth is I’d like to die right here; this is my life,” he said at the time. His last day at the store was Friday. He would have gone there Saturday, but he told his daughter, Anna Talbot, that he wasn’t feeling well and hadn’t slept well the night before. That led to a trip to Northeastern Vermont Regional

Hospital where medical staff determined he had heart complications that needed further examination and intervention at a larger facility.

Gary Ely, an employee at Caplan’s Army Store for 67 years until its closing at the end of last year, sits near a front store window on Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021. Every day Ely went to the empty store until he passed away over the weekend. (File Photo by Dana Gray)

No other big hospital in Vermont or New Hampshire could take him. Space was found for him at Baystate in Springfield, Mass. He was taken there by CALEX Saturday afternoon.

At first, Talbot said, information about her dad’s status was encouraging. She said she saw one of the CALEX workers who traveled to Springfield with Ely who said Ely had a good trip. And when Talbot spoke to Ely Sunday morning over the phone, she said, “He sounded great.”

Then came a call later Sunday morning from the hospital. “Things had taken a turn for the worse,” Talbot said. The doctors were contemplating what she called “aggressive catheterization” to address arterial blockages. Ely declined the procedure. Talbot said there was no guarantee that it would be successful.

Members of Ely’s family, including his four children, went to the hospital that day. Ely was conscious and alert into Sunday night. “We got to hear him say his last prayer,” said Talbot.

He died at 8:15 a.m. Monday. “I was there for his last breath,” Talbot said.

On her return home from the hospital Monday, she said she stopped at Caplan’s in honor of her father. She spoke fondly of the impact her dad had on her because he was such a people person.

“I thank God for the man that he was because he inspired me every single day,” she said. “He was like the mayor of St. Johnsbury. Everybody who ever met him would turn away with a smile.”

Ely’s commitment to connections at Caplan’s was impressive enough considering his many decades of employment, but it’s even more impressive that he endured there until he died considering the store has been closed for more than a year and a half.

Caplan’s served its final customer on Dec. 31, 2020, as owner Dave Caplan decided it was time to get out of the business and sell the property.

Ely, who lived in East St. Johnsbury, tried to stay away from his long-time home away from home, but that only lasted a couple of days. He still had a key to the building so he started going to the store every day. There was no merchandise, but people came into the store just to visit with Ely.

Even when the building was purchased in October 2021 by Northern Counties Health Care, Ely continued his daily routine there. With no immediate plans to transform the space and utilize it as part of their operations, officials at NCHC were happy to see Ely spending time there.

“Gary Ely and the Caplan’s building are kind of synonymous, and we have had conversations with Gary around his continued presence at the building,” said NCHC Chief Strategy Officer Chris Towne in October 2021. “Gary Ely really embodies the word community and Northern Counties Health Care is committed to community.”

Northeast Kingdom Chamber of Commerce Director Darcie McCann had many occasions to meet with Ely through her role with the chamber, but it was the man, beyond the businessman, that she most recalled on Monday.

“Gary was an institution in downtown St. Johnsbury for as long as I can remember,” she said in an email. “But despite the legacy he leaves in downtown St. J, he leaves a much bigger hole as he was one of the most decent and kind human beings you’d ever meet. He was not only an incredible presence at Caplan’s Army Store but he had a heart of gold and unparalleled empathy.”

One non-business interaction she had with Ely was especially important to her. “He was such a strength for me while my Marine son was deployed to Afghanistan during the war,” she said.

Ely’s brother Gaylon summed up what a lot of people knew about Gary Ely. “What a good-hearted guy he was.”

Original source can be found here.