Billie Joe Garrison

August 1, 1929 - November 9, 2018

Mr. Bill J. Garrison went to be with our Lord on November 9, 2018. He was born on August 1, 1929, to Paulina Williams Garrison and James Wesley Garrison, and he was raised in East Saint Louis Illinois. He served in the Navy during the Korean War years, and while stationed in Hawaii, he met his future wife there at a local, Baptist church. He and Patricia Neubeck Garrison married on January 8, 1954 (they were two months shy of their 65th anniversary).
Following his discharge from the Navy, he attended and graduated from Carson Newman College in Jefferson City, Tennessee. He would later earn a graduate degree in education from George Peabody College in Nashville, Tennessee. "Mr. Bill," as he was affectionately called by his students, then became affiliated with a "cutting edge" educational program called Project Re-Ed (Re-education) in the early 1960s. This project focused on working with emotionally disturbed children, and he recalled how a sister of then-President John Kennedy once showed up unexpectedly to observe him teach in his classroom one day.
During the 1960s, Mr. Bill was also a respected member of the art community in Middle Tennessee. He was an accomplished artist who exhibited his work (oils and watercolors, mainly) at such venues as the Parthenon, in Nashville. Later, he would focus his many abilities on his life-long passionteaching children (and adults) to read. He developed a highly effective method for teaching children with special needs (especially) how to read and write, and he wrote and published four books on that subject. At least one of these was a detailed "how-to" book that explained his methods. In his later years, and in connection with his church's efforts, he also tutored Sudanese immigrants for a time. He continued writing and tutoring into his eighties until health problems forced him to slow down.
Along with his wife and daughter (Jeanne), Mr. Bill was a member of the Church of the Redeemer in Nashville for many years. He was bold about sharing his faith, and many have come to experience the love and salvation of God through his testimony of what Jesus Christ had done in his own life. He was preceded in death by his parents, and two brother-in-laws and sisters (Irwin and Lotha Hiebert, and Terry and Marjorie Lucas). He is survived by his children Jon (spouse Nancy) Garrison, Kathy (spouse Walter) Wang, Beth (spouse David) Willis, and Jeanne Garrison. He is also survived by 17 grandchildren, one great-grandchild, and nieces and nephews.
Active pall-bearers are his grandsons Michael Garrison, Joshua Willis, Caleb Willis, Jon Paul Garrison, and Camin Willis. Honorary pall-bearers are Doug Weaver, Jim Perry, David Payne, and Danny Bryant.