Deacon Gary Walczak was born in Buffalo, NY in 1940.  Gary joined the Marine Corps in 1958 after graduating high school.  He  served from 1958 to 1963, and met and married his wife, Nida, while stationed in the Philippines. Gary and Nida have one son, Paul (adopted in 1966). They have one granddaughter, Alexandra.

     Gary received his Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from San Diego State University (San Diego, California) in 1976.  He was ordained to the Permanent Diaconate on October 4, 1986 by Bishop Phillip Staling in the Diocese of San Bernardino, California.

     Before moving to Greenville in 2002, the Walczaks lived in New York, California, Mississippi, Kansas, Missouri, Delaware, Philadelphia, South Carolina, and the Philippines.