By BOB SHRALUKA
WZBD.com
Gary Giessler, who launched the Bellmont High School wrestling program in 1962 at Decatur High School, died this morning at Woodcrest in Decatur.
His wife, Deb, posted the following on Facebook Friday morning: “Thank you to all that have been there with cards, texts and prayers. The end came. Gary lived a great life.”
Gary had been battling illness for the past year or so.
The longtime principal at Southeast Elementary School in Decatur had served on the North Adams School Board and had been involved in the athletic department at Adams Central.
He was a 1955 graduate of North Side High School in Fort Wayne and Ball State University.
He was among honorees at a special ceremony held last December prior to a Bellmont wrestling match.
Gary once famously said: “Some people think wrestling is a big thing in Decatur, like a matter of life or death. But that’s not true. It’s more important than that.”
