Hollister do-gooder and mentor taken off life support after
suffering multiple aneurysms
If there is any word that could sum up Gary Goularte, it would
probably be
”
selfless.
”
Goularte, 54, a well-loved and popular Hollister native known
for his great sense of humor, kindness toward those in need and
good cooking, suffered a brain aneurysm late last week. He was
initially treated at Hazel Hawkins Hospital before being
transported by air ambulance to Good Samaritan Hospital in Los
Gatos.
Hollister do-gooder and mentor taken off life support after suffering multiple aneurysms
If there is any word that could sum up Gary Goularte, it would probably be “selfless.”
Goularte, 54, a well-loved and popular Hollister native known for his great sense of humor, kindness toward those in need and good cooking, suffered a brain aneurysm late last week. He was initially treated at Hazel Hawkins Hospital before being transported by air ambulance to Good Samaritan Hospital in Los Gatos.
Doctors say that he was brain dead when he lost consciousness in his doctor’s office, according to a co-worker and family friend. Goularte remained on life support Thursday night as doctors prepared to harvest his organs, the friend said.
“I guess we’ve lost him. He was a very giving person, a very caring person,” said longtime friend, Bob Ackerman, whom Goularte considered a “second father.”
Goularte, a burly man with a booming voice, was involved in numerous clubs around Hollister, including the Baler Boosters, and was Director of Transportation Services at San Benito High School. Students could often find him at the bus barn when they needed help or advice.
Prior to his work at San Benito High School, Goularte was a police officer with the Hollister Police Department until he was forced into early retirement due to an injury.
“He was just a heck of a great person,” said Ackerman, clearly saddened and distraught for the loss. “They don’t come like that anymore.”
Longtime friend Ron Klauer described Goularte as a unique individual. In addition to their friendship, both were members of the Oddfellows Club, or I.O.O.F.
“He had a sense of humor that was distinctly his own,” Klauer said. “He was trustworthy and honest and if he said he was gonna do something, he did it. He was philosophically correct and he’d go to any extent to help anybody. On top of all that he was a pretty good cook too.”
All who knew him extol upon Goularte’s talent for cooking, especially when he prepared I.O.O.F. barbeques. But Goularte also had a talent for helping dysfunctional, disillusioned students who were failing in school turn their lives around. When a high schooler was going through difficulties or needed help – even monetary help – Goularte was known to lend a hand or a hand-out.
Goularte was also an amateur photographer, and took thousands of digital photos at many of the school’s events, especially Baler games. He placed the photos on disks, sold them to the students, them put all the money back into the high school’s athletic programs.
Before he was airlifted to Good Samaritan, some 70 friends and family had gathered at Hazel Hawkins Wednesday night, hoping and praying for the best. But on Thursday afternoon, Goularte’s family made the agonizing decision to take him off life support.
Ackerman said Goularte was like a son to him, as Ackerman’s daughter was born a month before Goularte in 1952 and the two went to high school together. Ackerman remarked that just the other day, shortly before he was stricken, Goularte had visited him and offered to do tractor work and chop wood for him.
“He said, ‘Bob, you aren’t getting any younger, so why don’t you teach me to drive that tractor for you,” Ackerman said, adding that Goularte was an avid sportsman and loved to go fishing on Ackerman’s family ranch on Pacheco Pass, Cedar Creek Ranch.
His former boss, Jim Koenig described Goularte as amazingly resourceful for getting the things the school needed. He said that earlier this year the school needed an alarm and Goularte found them an air raid siren that had been retired.
Koenig said Goularte worked diligently with the Baler Football Boosters.
“If you’ve ever done anything for the community like Baler Football Boosters it’s a thankless job but he’s a guy that could get things done and it was a great privilege to know him,” said Koenig.
Goularte was the Hollister 2002 Chamber of Commerce Man of the Year. He raised money for booster clubs, Pop Warner football, he always cooked at senior parents night and as the president of the International Order of Odd Fellows (I.O.O.F.) was instrumental in securing two $5,000 donations to San Benito High School for Challenge Day to teach kids non-violence.
His work with special education was wonderful, according to Laura Wiener-Smolka, administrative assistant at San Benito High School. One of the things people were quick to point out was how much Goularte did for the special education community at San Benito High School. He was purported to know every one of the kids by name and he would raise money for all their charities. They would take the money from the soda machine in the bus barn and use it to help any of the kids with things they couldn’t otherwise afford, whether it was a trip to Disneyland or a Letterman’s jacket.
Grief counseling was scheduled for Friday at San Benito High School, according to a school administrator.
