Gary Sperling died on the job, which surprised no one.

A tow-truck driver for more than 30 years, he built his one-man, one truck operation into a thriving business with nearly a dozen wreckers and a repair shop.

"He was always there," said friend Max Asher, a mechanic for the city of Cape Girardeau who has periodically worked for Sperling over the last 25 years. "If that phone rang, that phone got answered."

Friends and family are still in shock that Sperling, 58, died so suddenly.

After collapsing at Sperling's Garage and Wrecker Service in Cape Girardeau, he was pronounced dead at Saint Francis Medical Center.

John Owen worked for Sperling for nine years and said his boss was a compassionate man and a hard worker, often arriving at 5 a.m. and staying long after others had gone home. Sperling's reputation was "absolutely built on his dedication to the work," Owen said.

Early Thursday morning, Owen, Asher and dozens of fellow tow truck drivers paid tribute with a procession of one- and two-ton wreckers.

Rick Wieser, a funeral director at Ford and Sons Funeral home, said flashing lights and a long line of official vehicles are typical when a firefighter or law enforcement official dies -- and he has lost count of the number of funerals involving scores of motorcyclists. But tow trucks?

"This is not common," he said. Sperling's funeral tribute is the first he'd ever encountered with tow trucks.

Asher took the wheel of Sperling's favorite tow truck, a 1997 Super Duty Ford, following the line of cars trailing the hearse. He led 28 more trucks, which made a half-mile long line along the route from the funeral home to services at Zion Lutheran Church in Gordonville. Police stopped traffic at key intersections; on secondary roads, dozens of cars traveling in the opposite direction moved to the shoulder, respectfully waiting to resume travel after the procession passed.

A middle-aged man stood at the end of the driveway to 5579 Highway 25, baseball cap in hand and hand over heart, watching the hearse, cars and trucks pass by in the drizzling rain.

Sperling's brother-in-law Barry Davis, who came from Tustin, Calif., for the funeral, said he'd never seen anything like the procession or the reaction from others.

"The tow truck business can be cutthroat at times," he said. "But when something like this happens, they come together."

Sheree Sperling worked by her husband's side for their entire 33-year marriage.

She stood holding hands with the couple's son, Jason, at the church.

"I thank my drivers and all the other drivers so much," she said. "This was a great tribute to Gary. He was a good man."

Such tributes have been going on for more than 20 years, according to Cheryl Mish, director of the International Towing & Recovery Hall of Fame and Museum in Chattanooga, Tenn. The museum hosts a Wall of the Fallen to recognize drivers who die in the line of duty.

John Stuppy, owner of a Ste. Genevieve, Mo., towing service, and Junior Sinn, of Junior Sinn Auto Parts in Cape Girardeau, organized the tribute. Stuppy expects Sperling's name will be added to the Wall of the Fallen. Mish said families must fill out a nomination form at no cost.

Sinn, who has known Sperling since they were teens, said Sperling "was a very fine person."

pmcnichol@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127

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Watch a video of the procession