Avon Obituary: Gary Garrison, 53

Gary L. Garrison, 53, of Avon, died on Friday, July 1, 2016.

He was born in Columbus, Ohio, on July 12, 1962, and was the eldest son of the late Stephen F. Garrison and the late Jeri J. (Egelhoff) Garrison Redding. He graduated with degrees from The Ohio State University (B.A., Economics, 1984), Capitol University Law School (J.D., 1987/L.L.M., Tax Law, 1991), Miami University (M.A., History, 2005) and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst (Ph.D., History 2016).

He is survived by his life-partner and best friend of twenty-one years, Dr. Nels P. Highberg, III of Avon, as well as many cousins and a niece and nephew. He is preceded in death by his parents, all of his grandparents, all of his aunts and uncles, two cousins, a brother, Terry G. Garrison and a half-brother, Eric D. Redding.

Dr. Garrison was a member of the Ohio State Bar Association for twenty eight years and worked for the State of Ohio, Fourth District Court of Appeals, for twenty-six years. Though born and spent most of his life in Columbus, Ohio, Dr. Garrison later made his home in the Farmington Valley of Connecticut (which he loved dearly) and served several terms on the Farmington Democrat Town Committee before moving to Avon where he spoke on many occasions at the Avon Free Public Library on the history of civil rights. The decedent was a long-time instructor of contemporary civil rights and civil liberties at the University of Hartford and taught both American history and U.S. Constitutional law at Manchester Community College. Dr. Garrison was a member of many national and regional legal, historical, and civil rights organizations.

His family will receive friends Tuesday, July 5, 2016, from 5-8 pm at the Carmon Funeral Home & Family Center, 301 Country Club Road, Avon. A funeral service will be held Wednesday, July 6, 2016, at 10 am, at Carmon's in Avon followed by burial in Simsbury Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks you to contribute in his name to the Southern Poverty Law Center, 400 Washington Avenue, Montgomery, AL, 36104.

For directions or condolences please visit www.carmonfuneralhome.com.