Surround yourself with good people, be kind, support small businesses and the community they’re in. These are the words that Gary Sean O’Neill lives by.
Sean grew up in Olympia with his dad Gary, his stepmom Nancy and three brothers: Tristan, Kyle and Barry. He graduated from Washington State University as a Sigma Nu in 1988. There he made a plethora of “brothers” that he remains very close with, attending their annual “man camp” for 28 years running.
Sean has had an incredibly fun and successful career. He created a mountain bike shop in Moab, Utah, and ran it for eight years, catering to the tourism community. He led guided mountain bike tours and enjoyed the time exploring. Sean then sold the business (still open today) and moved around, eventually settling in Portland, Ore., working for Lagunitas as a beer ambassador — getting their beer in local bars and taprooms all over the Northwest.
Sean entertained customers, visited bars, educated himself on beer and fully immersed himself in the industry. Eventually Sean made a trip to Sequim and fell in love — but noticed that there was one thing missing — a taproom. This began Sean’s story in Sequim.
He found a location in 2017 and began working with the landlord to construct the interior of the Peninsula Taproom. From the time he moved to Sequim in July — it took just took three short months before the Taproom doors were opened. His goal was this: build a place for a community to meet and enjoy the space; a place to have a cold beer; a place for friends to see each other and have a laugh and share a smile; a place for people to plug in to work.
Peninsula Taproom should be a place for friends!
Sean was diagnosed with glioblastoma (GBM) in May after his girlfriend Tiffany noticed memory changes. Due to the location of his GBM, it cannot be surgically removed.
Sean is currently undergoing radiation and chemotherapy as “standard care.” Things will be re-assessed and re-scanned after the first round of care at which point clinical trials will be considered.
Sean requires around the clock care that is being provided by Tiffany and various supportive friends and family. If you have a quick conversation with Sean, things may not seem very different. If you spend a longer period of time with him you’ll notice just how much this awful disease is affecting him.
Peninsula Taproom, along with other supporting businesses are holding a “Who’s Gary?” benefit party from noon-9 p.m. on Saturday July 29. Funds will go directly to Sean for care, trials, bills, etc. We will have a silent action, raffles, live music, food, some amazing beer, a cash bar outside, corn hole tournament, and many other exciting ways to support this amazing man and all that he has done for the community.
If you have raffle goods you would like to donate, please contact Anissa Hayter at 360-461-4730. If you have logistical questions, please contact Mary Rupprecht at 360-477-0575. If you have questions regarding Sean specifically, please contact Tiffany Lozano at 425-445-0825.
Come out, have a beer, enjoy the day. Let’s have a party.
“We appreciate the love and support friends, family and community has shown us. We don’t like to have to tap into the bank of friendship that we’ve build up over the years, but sometimes we just have to trust the process, trust science, trust our friends and accept the help” – GSO
GBM Day
Wednesday, July 19, is Glioblastoma (GBM) Awareness Day. According to the Glioblastoma Research Organization, GBM Day was initially introduced to the Senate in 2018 by a bipartisan group of U.S. senators in response to the death of Sen. John McCain. The day falls on the third Wednesday of July and is “dedicated to increasing general awareness of Glioblastoma, which accounts for almost half of all cancerous brain tumors in adults.” For more information, visit gbmresearch.org.
