William Garrison
William “Bill” Lee Garrison (Sr.) passed in his sleep at home early on the morning of Sept. 11, 2025 in Renton, WA. He was 99. His twin sister, Betty Jane Anderson, passed away in Grand Junction, CO on Aug. 14, 2021 (age 95).
He was born on June 14, 1926 (“Flag Day”) in Goodland, KS to his parents: George and Laura Garrison. George was once the mayor of Goodland, and he owned the Coca-Cola bottling plant there.
His wife, of 68 years, Geraldine O. Garrison (nee Knitig) (March 3, 1929 – Nov. 5, 2017), was born in Selden, Kansas. They married on Feb. 4, 1949 in Albuquerque, NM.
During WWII, Bill served in the U.S. Army Air Forces [USAAF] (Feb. 1944- Nov. 1946). He received his aerial-gunnery training in Kingman, AZ to be a front & rear-tail gunner on the four-engine B-17 “Flying Fortress” heavy bomber. While awaiting transfer for service in Europe, the war ended, so he never flew any combat missions. Nonetheless, he was shipped to Naha, Okinawa as part of the U.S. occupation forces stationed on that Pacific island south of Japan. While there he served as the head mess sergeant. His military awards included: Asiatic Pacific Campaign medal, Good Conduct medal, Army of Occupation medal, and the World War II Victory medal.
Bill graduated from Pacific University in Forest Grove, OR with a B.S. In Optometry in 1962. He and his family lived in Forest Grove & Hillsboro, Oregon and later in Bellevue & Renton, WA. His hobbies were motorcycle riding (although he never did apply for his motorcycle endorsement to his auto driver’s license), power boating, and BBQ cooking.
He and his wife have four surviving children: William L. Garrison Jr., Debra Garrison, Brenda Schiffman, and Diana Fuller. Following the passing of their parents, Kay and Kitty Horner, Bill’s nieces, were raised with Bill’s family in Hillsboro, OR and Bellevue, WA.
Condolence messages for him may be posted at www.MarlattFuneralHome.Com
His military-remembrance ceremony and burial at the Tahoma National Cemetery (Kent, WA) will start at 1:30pm on Sept. 23, 2025.