Dr. Gary Michael Major

Dr. Gary Michael Major September 21, 1950 – March 15, 2026 Gary Michael Major (Majorowski) 75, of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, passed away on March 15, 2026. He was born on September 21, 1950, at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Milwaukee to Earl and Valencia Major (Gulcynzci). Earl worked as an accountant for General Electric Medical Systems and Val worked as an Executive Assistant and in accounts payable/receivable for the Allen Bradley Corporation before becoming a homemaker following the birth of her children. The eldest of two boys, Gary grew up on the South Side of Milwaukee in a tightly knit, predominantly Polish and Catholic neighborhood along S. 13th Street. His childhood was shaped by a loving extended family including his younger brother Randy with whom he shared a paper route and love for baseball, and his Grandma Sophie who lived first upstairs and then next door. Gary and his family were actively involved in the community and Church. He attended St. Rita’s for elementary school and served as an alter boy, spent hours playing in Wilson and other Milwaukee County Parks with neighbors in all seasons, and spent the weekends visiting his grandparents and the sick, cutting the grass between graves in the cemetery, and attending double-headers at Milwaukee County Stadium. Gary’s strong work ethic was formed at a young age. He had his own paper route and delivered papers for the Milwaukee Journal, with his dad and younger brother helping on Sunday mornings starting at 3 am, and also earned money cutting neighbors’ lawns and shoveling snow on the weekends. From age 16-22 he worked at Kohls Food Store. In addition to items like his own typewriter, guitar, and car, he used his earnings to pay for his high school education at Don Bosco and his undergraduate education at the University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee (UWM). At UWM Gary played D1 baseball on a utility player scholarship and graduated with a Bachelors in Psychology. After losing his father to a heart attack the summer following his graduation, he began his Masters in Psychology at Northern Illinois University (NIU). At UWM, Gary worked in a lab feeding and caring for rats until one day his professor stated, “You may want to consider working with people. You know, you’re good at that”. Gary went on to build an exciting, diverse, and service-oriented career in mental health. While still at NIU Gary worked full time at Elgin State Hospital on the Chronic Mental Health Ward and then in Central Admissions. At Elgin, Gary met and married his first wife, Barbara Doty. After just two years of marriage, Barb passed from complications of Lupus. Shortly after graduating from NIU, Gary began a job at the Wisconsin Correctional Service working with clients navigating drug and alcohol challenges within the criminal justice system. Gary went on to lead the Mobile Crisis Team, housed at the Medical College of Wisconsin and later Milwaukee County, where for ten years he leveraged his expertise in mental health, humor, and knack for working with people to talk people off of bridges, survive having knives pulled on him, and prevent teen suicide. During this time he also met and later married Judith Arnold while she was a second year medical student at the Medical College of Wisconsin and he was completing his dissertation in his PhD program at Marquette University. Gary and Judith had three “wonderful” children and shared a passion and talent for working with children. Through his work at the County, combined with his years playing ball all around town, Gary developed a deep familiarity with and epic ability to navigate the streets, bridges and bus routes of the City of Milwaukee practically with his eyes closed. In 1987 he began working as a Licensed Clinical Psychologist at Stress Management and Mental Health Clinics, where he worked up until the day of his passing, cultivating a one-of-a-kind therapy practice of nearly 40 years that served children, youth, adolescents, adults, couples, and families navigating any and all mental and behavioral health challenges and life experiences. He affectionately and authentically referred to his clients as “my people” and he was known by many of them simply as “Gary” or “my friend”. Gary was a man of many passions — Brewers baseball, music, horse racing, reading, classic movies, and above all, family. He cherished every moment with his “wonderful children” and took his greatest pride in being a Father and Grandfather. Having suffered tremendous personal losses of his father Earl, first wife Barb, brother Randy, and mother Val at far too early an age, as well as surviving near death experiences including childhood illness, a serious car accident in high school that shattered his pelvis, and open heart surgery in his forties, Gary developed a keen awareness of the fleeting nature of time, and a daily practice of verbalizing gratitude. He embraced a mission to squeeze every drop of joy and opportunity out of each day. He would never pass up an opportunity to share his gratitude to have one more day to make a contribution, to greet someone enthusiastically by their first name, or to make those around him feel valued and appreciated, if only with just a smile. In the last 10 years of his life he woke up nearly every day by 5 am and began his day with a text message to each of his children with a customized greeting that always included “I love you!” Gary was a source of steadiness, positivity, and predictability for friends and family alike. He had a memory like a steel trap and got so much joy from being able to “come through in the clutch” or make “a bold move” for a loved one in need. In lieu of flowers you can contribute to a memorial bench fund in the Milwaukee Parks via Venmo to @michael-major-22 or make a donation to a local charity of your choice in his name. Memorial Visitation Friday, March 27, 2026 from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM at ROZGA FUNERAL & CREMATION SERVICES – ROZGA-WALLOCH CHAPEL followed by Memorial Service at 12:00 Noon. Luncheon at Emerald City to follow after services. Rozga Funeral & Cremation Services Rozga-Walloch Chapel 4309 South 20th Street Milwaukee, WI 53221