Gregory Neil 'Greg' Hatmaker

Gregory "Greg" Neil Hatmaker, 64, of Vermilion, died Friday, July 24, 2015 at Mercy Regional Medical Center, Lorain after losing his battle to come back from a stroke suffered at his home on June 11th. He fought bravely, enduring many setbacks while in the Neurological ICU at University Hospital, Cleveland. Greg was born October 31, 1950 in Seattle, WA and had been a Vermilion resident since 1972 moving from Dayton. He retired Nov. of 2013 as the GM for Applebee's, Elyria after 18 years. He previously worked at Elyria Country Club as the Food and Beverage Manager and spent his early career in fine dining. Greg was an avid Indians fan, never missing a game on t.v. and enjoyed playing his guitar. While attending Ohio University, he played lead guitar for several bands. That love of music kept him interested in new releases and he loved reading Rolling Stone Magazine to keep up on all the music news. He had a wealth of knowledge about all genres of music, collecting over 25,000 albums. His desire for attending concerts was a lifelong passion. Greg was also a gourmet cook and excellent host, working tirelessly to please his guests. His reward was the "ooh's and ah's" as his friends gobbled down his feast. He loved gardening and canning his vegetables, giving his jars out as gifts. One of his other loves was fishing for Large Mouth Bass in the Withlacoochee River in FL. His most prized catch was a 9.5 foot marlin caught in Cabo San Lucas. He is survived by his wife, whom he met while attending college, Glenda (nee Huffstatler) Hatmaker; sons, Justin (Melissa Rorie) Hatmaker of Washington, DC and Christian (Karen Stetner) Hatmaker of Vermilion; daughter, Tatia (Kevin) Yost of Weirton, WV; grandson, Kaiden Yost; cousins, Faron and Shane Sparkman of KY and their families. He was preceded in death by his parents, James and Anna Mae (nee Sparkman) Hatmaker. The family will receive friends on Tuesday, July 28, 2015 from 4-8 pm at the Riddle Funeral Home, 5345 South Street, Vermilion. Funeral services will be Wednesday, July 29, 2015 at 11:00 am at the Church of the Open Door, 1230 Beechview Dr, Vermilion, OH. The Rev. Bob Gardner will officiate. Interment will follow at Maple Grove Cemetery, Vermilion. Greg was a very generous person, even being part of the organ donor program. The family suggests memorial contributions to the donors choice. Online condolences may be made at www.riddlefuneralhome.com.