From Architect to Grocery Bagger
After facing overwhelming medical bills and a promise to his late wife, an 80-year-old man finds himself bagging groceries. Gary Saruning, a resident of Utah, has been working four days a week at St. George’s Smith Market, but thanks to generous support from the community, he might soon be able to retire.
Gary started his job in December 2020, about six months after losing his wife, Carol, who suffered from two types of dementia. He stayed by her side throughout her three-and-a-half-year battle with illness.
“I promised God and her family that I wouldn’t put her in a nursing home,” he shared. “I kept her at home and took care of her.” This commitment, however, led to soaring home care costs, totaling around $80,000. “I paid it all, so I broke,” he explained.
Gary’s background is quite remarkable. He grew up in California and worked as an architect on numerous lavish mansions for high-profile clients, including the founder of the Jefferies Investment Group.
Gary and Carol both had children from previous marriages when they first met in 1990 while walking in a park. They spent hours talking on a bench that day. Not long after, they were engaged, eventually relocating from California to Montana to raise their kids together.
“We fell in love the day we met in the park,” he reflected. “We admitted it to each other later.” After years of designing homes, Gary wanted something different, something simpler. Smith Market provided him not just a job, but also a chance to make new friends, including Doana Johnson.
When Doana learned about Gary’s situation, she organized a fundraiser after a local news report highlighted his story. As of Sunday, about $40,000 had been raised, bringing Gary much closer to his retirement goal by the end of June. Johnson noted that many relate to Gary’s steadfast dedication to his wife.
“It shows there’s a lot of compassion and love in our country,” Doana observed, countering the belief that such qualities are fading. “Gary said Carol was incredibly loyal. She loved the Lord.” Doana feels a connection, believing Carol’s prayers for Gary are being fulfilled.
The fundraising efforts are being tracked on a local Facebook page. Overwhelmed with gratitude, Gary expressed his feelings about the community support, admitting he was “lost for words.”
He received many kind labels from people like “hero” and “angel,” but he humbly rejected those titles. “I’m not a hero, not an angel, and far from a saint,” he said. “I simply took care of her at home from the day of diagnosis until her last breath. It was a vow I made.”
