Robert Irvin Garrett

A memorial service for Robert Irvin Garrett, 62, of Sandersville, was held in Sandersville Saturday, July 28, 2007. He died Wednesday, July 25, after a long fight with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a lung disease for which there is no known origin or cure.

Mr. Garrett was a native of Wilkes County and was the son of the late Enoch Belle Garrett and Lillian Smith Garrett Skinner. His stepfather was the late Jacob Phinizy Skinner. Mr. Garrett was an awardwinning newspaper editor and had lived in Sandersville since 1971.

A journalist by education and profession, Mr. Garrett was educated in Wilkes County schools and graduated from the Henry W. Grady School of Journalism at the University of Georgia. After a brief stint as a teacher in the Fulton County Schools, he and his partner, David Wickersham, also of Washington, founded The Sandersville Georgian, a weekly newspaper in his adopted hometown. Six months later, the partners purchased The Sandersville Progress, the legal organ and major newspaper. He served as editor for 29 years.

In 2000, he decided to return to the classroom. A strong supporter of public education during his newspaper career, he joined the school system staff in community relations and taught journalism classes at Washington County High School. He was named Rotary Citizen of the Year in 2002 for his many contributions as a newspaper editor and a teacher and for his involvement in many organizations in the County. He was a member of Grace Episcopal Church.

Survivors include his wife, Ellamarie "Ree" Hudson Garrett of Sandersville; and two daughters, Susan Louise Garrett and Elizabeth Hudson Garrett, both of Sandersville.

The family has established the Bob Garrett Memorial Scholarship Fund at Washington County High School to support promising writers and journalists. Contributions may be mailed to the Garrett Scholarship Fund, c/o Washington County High School, P.O. Box 1057, Sandersville 31082.

Reader Comments

No comments have been posted. Be the first!

Other Stories With Comments:
Article	Comments
The Office Cat	2
Neighborhood vandalism is out of control	1
The Office Cat	1
Drug problem growing; little is being done	1
The Office Cat	1
Family escapes death in semi hit-and-run	1
Feed a family of four for $10 a week	1