Gary Saling, 80, bags groceries at Smith’s Market on Bluff Street.
But before that, he designed multi-million-dollar homes for Wall Street elites and even made Architectural Digest’s top 100 list.
According to a report by Fox 13, his story has drawn attention for its emotional depth and the community’s response.
A Work Ethic Passed Down
Saling says he picked up his tireless work ethic from his single mother, who worked as the head waitress at the famed Victor Hugo’s in Beverly Hills.
As a teenager, he bagged groceries and delivered them to customers in Laguna Beach, including one woman with “a gravely voice and a long cigarette”, Bette Davis.
“She said, ‘Because your mom has waited on me at Victor Hugo… How I know you’re her son is you’re just as much of a workaholic as she is,'” Saling recalled.
Still Paying for Love and Promises
Despite a successful career, he’s now working into his 80s to pay off the $80,000 he still owes in medical bills after caring for his late wife, Carol, who died in 2021.
Carol was diagnosed with Sundowner’s syndrome in 2017.
Medicare covered her neurology appointments, but not the care Saling promised to provide at home.
“There is no way I’m a hero. I am not an angel, and I’m certainly not a saint. I made the promise to keep her at home and never put her in a nursing home because I took vows,” he said.
A Love Story That Started at a Stoplight
The couple met in 1991 in what Saling calls a moment of fate. Both had frequented the same coffee shop for years but had never met until they locked eyes at a stoplight.
The store owner’s wife later introduced them formally.
“We fell in love with each other on the bench because we ended up sitting there for three hours,” he said.
Carol, an artist, spent her final years in their Utah home. Saling said the move was so she could be closer to a neurologist.
Even after her passing, the unpaid bills from her care linger.
A Community Steps In
Duana Johnson, who runs a small local ministry, noticed Saling still working and stepped in.
“I saw Gary bagging groceries, and I thought, ‘What’s this guy? Why is this elderly man still here?'” she said.
She set up a donation account at the State Bank of Southern Utah and launched a Venmo fundraiser (@HelpGaryRetire, code 2956).
Around $2,000 has come in so far, half of that in one weekend.
“I’m trying to raise enough money for him to be able to retire and not have to worry about working anymore,” Johnson said.
Humble to the End
Saling remains modest. “I never expected this. I’m just doing what I said I would do,” he said.
His story has touched many, not because he asked for help, but because he quietly honored a promise.
As donations slowly come in, there’s growing hope he may one day rest from work, knowing he kept his word to the woman he loved.