ABOUT

Even as a young boy, Gary loved building things. He tells stories of putting cars together from scratch and making them run during his summer vacations when he was only 12 or 13 years old. A friend of Hayes, Curtis Keene, tells from one of their races how someone came running over saying someone better go get that white-headed kid over there that is under a hood ripping things out and tearing it apart. He told them to leave him alone, that kid knows more about it than you!

Curtis Keene's car

The owner of Adkison Body Repair, Gary Adkison, has been closely associated with auto-motives his whole life. Son of mechanic and drag-racer, Hayes Adkison, Gary was exposed to the line of work that would become his future profession at a very young age as he followed his dad everywhere throughout his racing adventures.

Gary's interest in automotive led him to start working for his dad as a senior in high school when his father, Hayes, opened Adkison Auto in 1981 on Hwy 59 in Appleby, TX. It was there where he began learning the trade from his experienced father and long-time friend Audie Bell. Below you can see a couple of jobs done in that shop.

1978- Hayes Adkison's drag-racing equipment

A couple of years later, in 1983, Gary married his high school sweetheart, LaNita. A little over a year after that, they began their growing family that would eventually give them three children: Brandon, Brittany and Bryson.

A few years after the establishment of Adkison Auto, Gary bought the business from his dad and ran it for several years. Later, in 1993, he decided to make a career change and work for the Mike Perry Chrysler Jeep Body Shop. He stayed there a few years before he went back into business for himself in 1998 when he founded Adkison Body Repair in Nacogdoches, TX.

The years of experience Gary gained while working for his dad, starting his own business and then working for Mike Perry proved to be very valuable by the immediate success of Adkison Body Repair. The business quickly grew as Gary gained a very positive reputation around town due in part to his quality of work, but also to his honesty and integrity, according to his clients. The following pictures are before and afters of jobs taken throughout the years at that location.

Near the end of its journey in the Nacogdoches location, Adkison Body Repair began to get a rise in demands for larger collision repair needs such as in motorhomes and buses. Due to the new need for more space, Gary decided to relocate to the Central Heights area where he could expand and accommodate the need for larger sized repairs.

On a personal level, Gary Adkison is a member and deacon of Holly Springs Baptist Church. He is a loving husband, father and G-Pa. He has always enjoyed spending time with his family going to the lake, riding razrs or doing anything outdoors. All three of his children have married now and his four grandchildren, Beckham, Presley, Britton and Brooks, think he hung the moon. Anyone that knows Gary knows that he has never met a stranger and would agree that he is honest and a man of his word.

In addition to Gary's positive reputation around town, he also has more experience in his field than most anyone in this area. From day one of Adkison Body Repair, he has striven to please his customers with the same quality service that he would want his own family to receive and has managed to provide that service while keeping very positive feedback from his clients. In 2012 and now again in 2014, Adkison Body Repair was voted “Best Auto Repair” in the Daily Sentinel’s “Best of Nac”. While we are immensely honored by being named "Best Auto Repair" in Nacogdoches, we don't take winning this award lightly. We will continue to do everything in our power to always please our customers with the best quality service in our area at affordable prices. Thank you for your trust in us for your auto repair and we look forward to continuing to serve you in the future.