Mark "Wally" Gainer

Mark “Wally” Gainer, age 74 of Sudbury, passed away peacefully on Tuesday, June 27, 2023.  He was the loving husband of the late Susan Elizabeth (Rice) Gainer.

Mark was born in Boston, Massachusetts on March 8, 1949, son of the late Carl Gainer and Lillian (Manning) Legere.  He was raised and educated in Lincoln and Sudbury, MA.  He Graduated from Lincoln-Sudbury Regional High School, class of 1967. After graduating high school, he worked as a carpenter and attended the Police Academy program. Mark married his high school sweetheart, Susan, on March 18, 1967. They raised four children, Marianne, Susanne, Mark Jr. and Elizabeth in Sudbury. 

Mark “Wally” worked as a Police Officer for the town of Sudbury for 33 years, retiring in 2004. After his retirement from SPD, he built furniture for a local pre-school. Finally, he fully retired in 2009.

Wally was an avid outdoorsman. He loved fly fishing and hunting. Wally enjoyed tying his own flies and woodworking; he was a skilled craftsman.  He could build anything from beautiful furniture to intricate guitars. He cherished a good meal with family and friends, had a passion for football and always enjoyed his favorite holiday, Thanksgiving Day. He also enjoyed playing cards and cribbage with his buddies. One of his many talents was his ability to make a funny rhyme about any circumstance. He would often strum a guitar and make up a silly song off the cuff. He could always be counted on for humor in all situations. Wally was also known as a great storyteller who could entertain an array of audiences with his simple stories about life.

Wally is survived by his children, Marianne Harris; Susanne “Jackie” O’Rourke and husband Dennis of Marlborough, MA; Mark Gainer Jr., and wife Gretchen of Sudbury, MA; Elizabeth Thoman and husband Richard of Westborough, MA; his loving grandchildren, Conor and Dylan Harris, Aiden and Devin O’Rourke, Lillian, Shannon, and Jake Gainer and Allyson Thoman. His siblings, Carl Gainer of Lincoln, MA; Linda Gillig of Bowdoin, ME.

Family and friends will gather to honor and remember Wally on Saturday, July 22, 2023 from 10:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. at the Fowler-Kennedy Funeral Home, 42 Concord Street, Maynard, MA.  Burial will be private.

“When I come to the end of the road. And the sun has set for me. I want no rites in a gloom filled room. Why cry for a soul set free?”  

Gifts in his memory may be made to the American Diabetes Association 260 Cochituate Road #200, Framingham, MA 01701.