WILLIAM HENRY GARRETT
William Henry Garrett, b November 6, 1922 at Stranger, Falls County, Texas, d
March 13,1969 in Diboll, Angelina County, Texas and buried in Stranger Cemetery
in Falls County - was the fourth child of Sanford Quay and Agnes (Mitchell)
Garrett. He was a 1940 graduate of Marlin High School, enlisted in the U. S.
Navy in March 1941, where he became a Pharmacist Mate and served on a
destroyer tender, the U. S. Denebola. In November 1942, he was accepted in the
U. S. Naval Air Training Corps - accepting his commission and wings as a U. S.
Marine Corps pilot. He became a fighter pilot - flying the famed F-4-U
Corsair
in major
battles of the Pacific Theater - during which time he
received a purple heart, bronze stars, and several service medals. He was one of
thirty-five pilots who were members of the Caterpiller Club, and permitted to
wear a small gold caterpillar on his ribbons After World War II ended, Bill
remained in the Marine Reserves, and was recalled to fight in Korea -
this time in both Jet Fighters and the F-4-U Corsair. Bill was released from
service with the rank of Major.
On November 12, 1945 in Marlin, Texas, William Henry Garrett was married
first to Norma Jo (Smith) Williams, b October 9, 1923 in Bremond, Robertson
County, Texas - a daughter of John Harvey and Ila Grace (Petteway) Smith; and
they reared her son by a previous marriage to James Maurice Williams: Michael
Keith Williams; and had one son: William Mark Garrett, b February 2, 1953 at
Albemarle Sound, North Carolina where his father was stationed before leaving
for the Korean War - who married Cynthia Delores (Taylor) Youngblood.
After World War II, Bill entered Texas A&M University for
premedical training - transferring to The University of Texas School of Pharmacy
in Austin, where he received his pharmacist degree. He and Norma settled in the
young town of Lake Jackson, Texas, where he and his brother, Thomas Rice
Garrett, established their business in Lake Jackson and Freeport, Texas. Later,
it was Bill who lured his parents and elder brother, Sandy, to move there. They
then moved their business into a building built by his father - Garrett's
Pharmacy.
On October 2, 1960 in Clute, Brazoria County, Texas, Bill married second
to Leigh Stanford, b December 26, 1933 in Wheeler, Van Zandt County, Texas - a
daughter of Brady and Ople (Jones) Stanford; and they had two children:
Patrick Alan Garrett, b July 25, 1962 in Brazoria County, Texas - is
married and has a daughter, residing in Tyler, Texas.
Kimberleigh Garrett, b November 9,1966 in Denver, Colorado, resides in
Tyler, Texas with her mother - now Mrs. John Krauskopf.
Copyright Permission granted to Theresa Carhart for printing the biographies of
these Falls County Families to this Web page.
"Families of Falls County", Compiled and Edited by the Falls County Historical
Commission, page 182 column 2 and page 183 column 1.
Member of Falls County Historical Commission.
