John H. Garrett

Published 12:00 am Monday, February 23, 2009

John H. “Buck” Garrett, 84, of Wilmore, formerly of Bowling Green, died at 11:17 a.m. Feb. 21, 2009, at the Thomson-Hood Veterans Center in Wilmore.

He entered this life on July 23, 1924, in Auburn, the son of Thomas D. “Deck” Garrett and Eunice Wilson Garrett. He was a 1941 graduate of Auburn High School. He was drafted into the Army in June 1943. While on leave after basic training in California, he was united in marriage on Dec. 9, 1943, in Franklin to the love of his life, Margaret Turner. He served with the 325th Search Light & Radar Battalion during World War II on Mount Serabaci on Iwo Jima from March 1944 until the end of the war. After being honorably discharged from the Army in December 1945, he worked in Auburn at the Hosiery Mill, then in Louisville at B.F. Goodrich and then back to Bowling Green to work in the parts department of the Lincoln-Mercury dealership. In 1958, he became the manager of Stuckey’s Pecan Shoppe in Centerville, Ind., and worked there until 1969. He returned to Bowling Green in August 1969 and worked at Wallace Ford in the parts department until his retirement in 1989. He was a faithful member of First Christian Church of Bowling Green, where he served as a deacon and treasurer for several years. John was a kind, humble, generous man who gave of himself to his family and many friends, who will all miss his warm, gentle smile and his loving influence in their lives. He was preceded in death by his wife, Margaret, in September 2003; two sisters, Rosabelle Garrett Ryan and Marie Garrett Cole; and a brother, Thomas D. “Butch” Garrett.

Funeral is at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday at J.C. Kirby & Son Funeral Home, Broadway Avenue chapel, with burial in Auburn Cemetery. Visitation is from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home.

Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to Thomson-Hood Veterans Center in Wilmore. Contribution cards are available at the funeral home.

Online condolences may be made at www.jckirbyandson.com.

Mr. Garrett will be missed by his two sons and daughters-in-law, John W. and Rosie Garrett of Elizabethtown and Thomas H. and Debra Garrett of Madison, Ind.; a granddaughter, Jaclyn K. Tweedy and her husband, Josiah, of Madison; a grandson, Andrew T. Garrett; a great-granddaughter, Madelynn Elizabeth Tweedy; a great-grandson, Nathaniel Turner Tweedy; and several nieces, nephews, great-nieces and great-nephews.