Gary Brinks was born on July 16, 1947, near Sheldon, IA to Gerrit & Henrietta Brinks. He was baptized and professed his faith in the Reformed Church. As the oldest of 5 children, he spent his early years on his parent’s dairy farm helping with farm activities. He graduated from Balaton High school in 1965 and attended the University of Minnesota Morris, St. Paul and later graduated from Southwest Minnesota State University. Gary was united in marriage to Helen Anderson on June 14, 1969, at the Methodist Church in Lake Wilson. Gary enlisted in the US Air Force and went to Basic Training at Lackland AFB in Texas. After Basic, Gary was sent to Lowry AFB near Denver, CO and Castle AFB near Merced, CA to train as an ordinance mechanic on B-52 Bombers and later F-4 Phantom fighters. In November of 1970, Gary was sent to Vietnam for a one-year tour as the leader of a 4-man munitions crew. After 4 years in the service, Gary was honorably discharged and returned with Helen to the Garvin a