Gary Giscombe

Obituary For Gary Giscombe

Gary Lawrence Giscombe was born on September 16, 1944 to the late LaSelve and Grace Giscombe in Harlem, NY.

Gary was the second of three sons. Gary finished public school in New York. He graduated from Central State University in Ohio, where he pledged and was a Life Member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity. Later he received a MBA in Finance from PACE University, NY.

Gary met the love of his life, Bernice Leslie Stafford and they married in June 1974. To this union came two children, son, Bryant and daughter, Garian. Gary achieved many professional accomplishments while maintaining a loving family life. Gary was formally the Chief Financial Officer for a number of not-for-profit organizations, they included The YWCA of the City of New York and Amnesty International, USA. His responsibilities included management of finance, human resources, information technology, facilities and publications at various organizations. He has been a leader in socially responsible investing. His skills included major system project management, assessing and running disaster recovery tests, domestic and international financial audits, as well as SEC reporting.

Gary has been a member of the Board Audit Committee for the New York City Housing Authority and has chaired the audit committee for a life insurance company. He taught accounting at Westchester Community College and lectured on fiscal management for numerous organizations. Gary was also a New York State CPA, and a former Army Finance Officer having served at Ft, Knox and Vietnam.

Gary and his wife Bernice relocated to Sarasota in 2016, and immediately became active supporters of the West Coast Black Theatre Troup, members of Light of the World International Church in Sarasota. Gary was currently serving as the 1st Vice President of Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). Gary and Bernice live in Bradenton, Florida while maintaining a summer place in Sag Harbor, New York.

On November 3rd Gary left this walk of life. He leaves to cherish his memories, his wife of 49 years Ber-nice, son, Bryant (Kate), daughter, Garian, and grandson, Tristan. Brother, Ronald Giscombe, who re-sides in Florida, beloved brother-in-law, Kenneth H. Stafford Sr., sisters-in-law, Gayle and Diane Staf-ford, and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and close friends.