Gary Ladd

(From Mason-Woodard Mortuary)

Gary Ladd crossed the finish line on February 11th 2026. Born January 2, 1948 in Joplin at St. John’s hospital to Garold and Beulah Ladd. He spent his youth racing the streets of Joplin with his friend Randy and proceeded to join the Navy and served on the USS Ponce spending most of his time in Japan. 

When he arrived back stateside, he was in a local establishment and was approached by a lovely lady and asked to dance but he only had eyes for her friend, a tall blonde with sparkling blue eyes that he would later turn into his drag race doll. Martha was the love of his life and always kept him guessing. She preceded him in death in 2017. 

Gary spent his after-Navy career as a welder at B&D and then as a drafter/designer at Cardinal scale. A man that could truly do anything, from building race cars to helping his daughter and grandkids survive math class and learning how to drive a stick shift.

Gary is survived by his only daughter Betsy and devoted his life to loving her and his 6 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren.

A celebration of life will be held on March 1, 2026 at the Carthage VFW post 2590 at 1:00 pm, in lieu of flowers please send donations to the Carthage Humane Society.