William “Bill” Garrett, 67, of Taylorville, died unexpectedly in an automobile accident on Saturday, Oct. 3, in Kincaid.
Visitation will be held Thursday, Oct. 8, from 9:30 to 11 a.m. at Sutton Memorial Home in Taylorville. Funeral services will follow, beginning at 11 a.m. at the funeral home with the Rev. Dayle Badman officiating. Burial will be held at Oak Hill Cemetery in Taylorville.
Mr. Garrett was born June 20, 1953, in Springfield, to Bernard and Ruth (Harmon) Garrett. He married Patricia Chausse, and she survives.
He graduated from Morrisonville High School with the class of 1971 and attended Lakeland Community College in Mattoon.
Mr. Garrett operated and actively farmed Garrett Farms for 36 years before ultimately retiring in 2009. His work was his passion and in addition to bringing him professional success was something that he truly loved.
Locally, for nearly a decade, he served as a board member at Assumption Cooperative Grain Co., and he, along with his son Eric, donated significant time to coaching youth baseball and basketball teams.
Mr. Garrett was regarded by all who knew him as a wonderful son, husband, father, grandfather and friend. He never met a stranger and was known for his inviting smile, which would light up a room.
He was an avid outdoorsman who relished his opportunities to fish or hunt, and he was an animal lover who took great pleasure in spending time with his cats Morris and Tommy. He enjoyed traveling with his wife to see different parts of the country, indulging in great meals along the way. In all, he visited 46 of our country’s 50 states, an accomplishment of which he was quite proud. He was also a regular nearly every morning at the Taylorville McDonald’s, where he enjoyed coffee with some of his many friends. Most of all, he enjoyed being with and mentoring his grandsons to whom he was a figure larger than life.
In addition to his wife of 47 years, Mr. Garrett is survived by his daughter, Stacey (husband Chris) Wallace of Apison, TN; son, Eric (wife Jamie) Garrett of Owaneco; grandsons, Brody and Ethan Garrett of Owaneco; and his brother, Darrell (Lis) Garrett of Palmer.
He was preceded in death by his parents.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be directed to Boy Scout Troop 132 at the Taylorville Presbyterian Church, South Fork United Methodist Church or the Taylorville FFA.
Online condolences to the family may be left at www.suttonmemorialhome.com.
