REV. W. GERALD GARRIS
Jan. 19, 1936-Feb. 2, 2012
DUDLEY -- The Rev. William Gerald Garris, 76, died Thursday morning, Feb. 2, 2012, at Wake Medical Center in Raleigh.
A service to celebrate his life will be at 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, at First Baptist Church of Mount Olive, officiated by Dr. Dennis Atwood and the Rev. Paul Rose. Interment will immediately follow in John Pridgen Family Cemetery.
Friends and family will be received this evening, Feb. 3, at Tyndall Funeral Home from 7 to 9 p.m., and at other times at the Garris residence.
Those who survive include four children and their spouses, Angela G. and Gary Hughston of Faison, Tony and Jenny Garris of Goldsboro, Rose G. and Ricky Beasley of Mount Olive and Sallie G. and Ralph Fiore of Garner; seven grandchildren, Jake Garris, Cody Garris, Lee Beasley, Brandon Beasley, Kelly Beasley, Hunter Fiore and River Fiore; and a sister-in-law, Ruby Lee Garris of Deep Run.
He was also anticipating the soon arrival of his first great-grandchild.
He was preceded in death by his wife, Marjorie Pridgen Garris; his parents, Edward Hadley Garris and Polly Ann Williamson Garris; and his siblings, Hazel Garris Price, Marvin Garris, Opal Garris Davis and Sallie Garris Holmes.
The Rev. Garris was a member of First Baptist Church of Mount Olive. Himself a Baptist minister having pastored Union Baptist Church near Kinston and Poplar Grove Baptist Church in Sampson County, he had served for numerous years as a chaplain with the North Carolina Prison System.
A Vietnam veteran, he served in the United States Air Force for 231/2 years, attaining the rank of senior master sergeant, during which most of his years were as an air traffic controller.
His last working tenure was through James Sprunt Community College, teaching religion at North Duplin Junior/Senior High School.
Flowers are welcome, or memorial gifts may be made to the charity of one's choosing.
Tyndall Funeral Home is honored to serve the Gerald Garris family.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on February 3, 2012 1:50 PM