Former Hoover Mayor Gary Ivey remembered as loyal friend with love for family, city

Former Hoover Mayor Gary Ivey’s body was laid to rest at Southern Heritage Cemetery in Pelham this afternoon.

Just before that, about 130 people gathered at Ellison Memorial Funeral Home in Clanton, where friends and colleagues described Ivey as a loyal friend who was devoted to his family and the city of Hoover.

Hoover police Chief Nick Derzis said he and Ivey spent years as best friends.

“We spent great times together. We spent bad times together,” Derzis said. “We fought together. We laughed together. We cried together.”

Derzis said he first met Ivey 35 years ago when Ivey was a salesman at Scoles Cadillac and Derzis was a rookie police officer. Ivey progressed to become a partner in Crest Cadillac dealerships in Hoover and Nashville while Derzis moved up the ranks in the Police Department.

THE LUNCH BUNCH

Ivey, Derzis and another former Hoover mayor, Brian Skelton, were part of a Hoover “lunch bunch” that would meet three or four times week. “We solved every problem the city of Hoover had,” Derzis joked. “We actually solved some national problems, too.”

In the early days, Ivey liked to work behind the scenes, supporting various political candidates, but then he got more directly involved. He served eight years on the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission and then decided to run for Hoover City Council and won. He spent seven years as president of the council and then five years as mayor.

During an hourlong service, Pastor Jason Green of Mineral Springs Baptist Church in Clanton recounted many of the city projects in which Ivey was proud to have played a part.

After the 2016 election, Ivey said some of his best memories in city government included the development of Veterans Park, construction of the Hoover Senior Center and additions to the Hoover Public Library. He also was proud of the sports field built at Hoover Sports Park East for children and adults with special needs.

Other accomplishments he regarded as significant included the widening of U.S. 31 between Interstate 459 and Data Drive and helping important private-sector projects become a reality. Some of those projects include the renovation of the Riverchase Galleria and the construction of the Field & Stream store in Patton Creek and two freestanding emergency departments.

“He loved Hoover,” Derzis said. “He did things for the right reasons. He was a fiscal conservative. He made sure the city had money.”

Ivey also understood the need for having strong public safety departments and made sure the Hoover police and fire departments had the tools they needed to keep Hoover a safe city, Derzis said.

Derzis said Ivey got his passion for politics from his father, Garve Ivey Sr., but the father was a Yellow Dog Democrat while the son was a staunch Republican and conservative, which led to numerous arguments.

HEART OF GOLD

On a personal note, Derzis described how Ivey was always willing to lend a hand to people in need. There were many Christmas Eves when Ivey came to Derzis’ house when Derzis had young children and helped him put together toys.

He also cared deeply for other city employees, especially when they faced personal financial challenges.

“Gary would be the first guy to reach in his pocket and pull cash out and make sure those people got financially OK,” Derzis said. “He had a heart of gold.”

Tamra Courson, who worked with Ivey at Crest Cadillac for more than 25 years, described the many phases of Ivey’s life.

His teenage years included lots of jobs at his father’s multiple businesses ventures in Jasper— a pool hall, drive-in and rental houses. He also served as a swimming pool lifeguard and basketball referee, she said.

Ivey told lots of stories about his teenage years, including run-ins with police, drag racing, boating, girls and transporting moonshine, she said.

He went to Auburn University and worked some with a police department before returning to Jasper to run a car lot with his brother, Garv Ivey Jr. He started his first car lot with $17,000 and worked his way up to being a partner in two Cadillac dealerships, she said.

CARS, GUNS, SHINY SHOES AND PRETTY GIRLS

Ivey had a strong work ethic and a love for politics, guns, fine automobiles, fine clothing, shiny shoes and pretty women, Courson said.

Life at Crest Cadillac was like a modern-day reality show, with lots of fabulous trips, fantastic parties and a constant stream of police officers and political figures streaming in and out of the dealership, she said.

But nothing topped Ivey’s love for his children and grandchildren, Courson said. “You brought him his greatest joy,” she told them at the funeral.

Derzis echoed that, saying Ivey never tired of talking about the academic accomplishments and job opportunities of his daughter, Nicole, and the gymnastic feats of his daughter, Tyler.

After the funeral in Clanton, Hoover police officers escorted the funeral procession to the burial spot in Pelham. When family and friends arrived at Southern Heritage Cemetery, they were greeted by more Hoover police officers and firefighters standing at attention to honor the former leader of the state’s sixth largest city.

After Ivey was defeated in his re-election bid in 2016, he sold Crest Cadillac and moved to Chilton County. He was 63 when he died of natural causes at his home there, Chilton County Coroner Aaron Ellison said.

This article was updated at 7:48 p.m. on Jan. 30 to correct the name spelling of Gary Ivey's father, Garve Ivey Sr.