Obituary of Gary Franklin Wiggins

It's with both joy and sadness we announce that at 1:55 AM, on December 20, 2023, Gary Franklin Wiggins, Sr. left us to be "On the Road Again". This time, making his final journey for the heavens. He was 79 years old.

Gary is survived by his loving wife of 58 years, Joan Louise (Burda); his two sons, Gary Jr. and Christopher Wiggins; his grandchildren, Kristen Younger, Rachel, Matthew and Christian Wiggins; his great grandson, Saul Gutierrez; and his brother, Kenneth R. Wiggins.

"Wheels" was born October 13, 1944, in Goldsboro, North Carolina. His youth and adolescence were predominately in New Jersey, where he spent most of his time making music, riding his motorcycle and courting his high school sweetheart, Joan “Burda Bug”. After he graduated high school in 1963, he enrolled in a technical school to study the principals of architechture. However, just one year later, he witnessed a national war-time draft where his friends were drafted alphabetically by last name before him. Instead of waiting to be called, he enlisted in the United States Air Force. In October of 1965, Gary married the love of his life, Joan. Only to have to answer the call to fight in the Vietnam War in 1966. Where he served as a civil engineer and unfortunately missed the birth of his first son, Gary Jr.

After his return from battle in 1967, Gary was stationed at Westover Joint Air Force Base in Massachusetts for six months. Upon completing his military service, Gary and Joan took their recently purchased mobile home to North Carolina, where he became a Building Inspector for the City of Little Washington. In addition, he and Joan established The Dairy Bar ice cream business.

In 1970, Gary was recruited by the City of Myrtle Beach to be the head of the Building Department. However, before they could officially relocate, he and Joan experienced the birth of their second son, Christopher. Shortly after their move to the beach, Gary began his architectural endeavors, by designing and constructing their first home within a year. During his 14 year tenure for the City, he also designed, constructed and sold three personal homes and one residential spec house, while never missing a single day of work. Furthermore, he was named Building Official of the Year for the State of South Carolina in 1973 and served as a leadership member of the Southern Building Codes Council. By 1985, his time living in M.B. was coming to an end as he sold his last home and set his sights on larger challenges.

In 1986, “Pea#2” moved to Columbia, South Carolina to take on the role of a Building Administrator for the State of S.C. During his 30+ years of service for the State, he became the first nationally recognized Certified Building Inspector and Certified Building Official in the State of South Carolina. In addition, he was recruited to be the first administrator for the South Carolina Building Codes Council. For over 20 years, Gary was an instructor for a variety of construction related courses and subjects for the S.C. Fire Inspectors School, S.C. Board for Barrier Free Design and Horry-Georgetown Technical College. He also served on many boards and committees at the American Arbitration Association, International Code Council, Southern Building Codes Congress International, University of South Carolina, Clemson University, National Institute of Building Sciences, Building Officials Association of S.C., Council of American Building Officials, World Organization of Building Officials, S.C. Society of Professional Engineers and National Institute of Building Sciences. Furthermore, he was instrumental in writing and enforcing statewide barrier free architectural laws for disabled accessibility, and created a video “Barrier Free Design – It’s the Law!” in 1993, to educate builders on the codes. This video, and it’s follow up were originally created for builders in S.C. However, they ended up being used by building departments across the country. Moreover, he designed and built two more personal homes, did private consulting work and authored a book entitled  Contract Yourself and Save - The Complete Guide to Owner Contractor Construction. He was also commissioned as a Kentucky Colonel in 2003 by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Paul E. Patton. “Mr. Phenomenal” retired from the State of South Carolina after 47 years of service in 2013. He spent the remainder of his time living two peas in a pod with his beloved wife.

"JamakaG" was a lifetime lover of music. Known to join bands at parties and events he attended, he enjoyed playing the drums, guitar, harmonica and bongos. He loved making people laugh and would always lend a helping hand to anyone in times of need. He was regularly philanthropic and supported many causes, including the Alzheimer’s Disease Research and the American Legion. But above all, he was a chivalrous gentleman, loving father and devoted husband. His family is saddened to see him go, but revel in the fact that he did everything in life, his way.

A memorial for Gary will be held on Thursday, December 28, at the Thompson Funeral Home in Lexington, S.C. Visitation will be at 2:00 PM with the service starting at 3:00 PM. For those interested in giving an offering, the family requests instead, a donation to a cause that was dear to Gary's heart, the Alzheimer’s Disease Research. Information can be found at www.brightfocus.org/ADRyearend