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Lora B. Garrison


Lora B. Garrison

Lora B. Garrison, 91, of Utopia died on Nov. 5, 2017, in San Antonio after a brief illness.

A funeral service will be held today at 1 p.m. at Utopia Methodist Church. The Rev. Chuck Crane will officiate. Interment will follow at Jones Cemetery.

She was born on March 25, 1926, at the Davis Ranch in Northeast Uvalde County to Annie Lee (Auld) and Bob Davis. Alongside her seven siblings, she helped her parents run their Angora goat operation.

She married Roger William Garrison on June 20, 1942, in Uvalde and the couple embarked on a 30-year journey with the U.S. Air Force. With their growing family they moved frequently throughout Texas, the United States and the world. Assignments took them to Nashville, Tennessee; Corpus Christi, San Antonio, and College Station; Montgomery, Alabama; Bloomington, Indiana; and Sumter, South Carolina. Overseas assignments included being stationed in Guam, France and Thailand.

The couple returned to the Davis Ranch in 1971, where they built a home on Blanket Creek off FM 1050.

Garrison was a home maker and milliner. The family says she made hats for Claudia Alta “Lady Bird” Johnson and Alice Roosevelt Longworth, among other Washington luminaries.

After returning to the Hill Country she became interested in genealogy and the folk history of Frio Canyon pioneers. She began collecting oral histories which she published in regional publications and Texas Folklore Society books. In the 1980s she wrote a column called “Stomping Grounds” for the Uvalde Leader-News. Her interest in local history led her to become a professional story teller and over the years she made many appearances at schools, libraries and festivals to share her stories of the early pioneers of the Frio Canyon.

The Garrison home became a popular bed and breakfast inn in the 1980s. Guests returned often, and many became friends.

Honors Garrison received included Woman of the Year from Texas Press Women in 1984. She was a past president of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Caddell-Smith chapter and the Texas Folklore Society. Garrison was on the Board of Directors for the Alamo, the French Legation Museum in Austin and the Republic of Texas Museum.

She was preceded in death by her parents; siblings; two sons, David William Garrison and Roger Allen Garrison; and her husband after 58 years of marriage.

Garrison is survived by one daughter-in-law, Judy Garrison of San Antonio; two daughters, Betty Gauche Roy and husband, Bert, of Eagle, Colorado, and LeAnn Sharp and husband, Anthony, of Utopia; one son, John Garrison and wife, Cindy Alexander, of Keller; nine grandchildren, Paige Garrison, Michael Gauche, Lane Garrison, Bain Walker, Forrest Walker, Shelly Sharp, Kelly Sharp, Bregger Garrison and JesseLee Garrison; nine great-grandchildren, Taylor Garrison, Salina Phillips, William Moreland, Brennen Walker, Bailey Fink, Charlotte Walker, Malachi Fink, Everly Fink and Austen Garrison; and many friends and extended family members.

In lieu of flowers the family requests memorial donations to Utopia Volunteer EMS, P.O. Box 393, Utopia, TX 78884; Utopia Volunteer Fire Department, P.O. Box 62, Utopia, TX 78884; Utopia Memorial Library, P.O. Box 677, Utopia, TX 78884; Utopia ISD Library, P.O. Box 880, Utopia, TX 78884; Real County Public Library, P.O. Box 488, 78873; or El Progreso Memorial Library.

Lora B. Garrison

Lora B. Garrison

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