Mary Elaine Garrett
July 24, 2008

Mary E. Garrett, age 94, of Glenwood, Iowa, formerly of Cherokee Village, Arkansas

Mary Elaine Garrett, one of eight children of Roy M. Higgins and Serena B. (Thomas) Higgins, was born February 7, 1914, near Farragut, Iowa. Mary died at Jennie Edmundson Hospital in Council Bluffs, Iowa on July 24, 2008, at the age of 94 years, 5 months, and 17 days.

Mary grew up in the Shenandoah,Iowa,area where she graduated from high school in 1932. Following school, she worked in the business office at the Earl May Seed and Nursery Company in Shenandoah.

Mary and Horace Cleveland Sawyer were married in Shenandoah where they continued to make their home. Their marriage was blessed with two children, Judith Jane and Jo Ellen. Horace died during the polio epidemic in November of 1950. Mary and her children continued to live and work in Shenandoah where Mary was an active member of the First Baptist Church.

Mary and Foster Sherman Garrett were married in 1952 and his two children, Larry and Donna, became part of their new family. They moved to Ames, Iowa, where Mary worked in a printing office and both Mary and "Frosty" owned and operated the Walnut Motel. Their marriage was blessed with the birth of a daughter, Tomi Vance.

Mary and Frosty retired in 1965 and moved to Cherokee Village in Arkansas. Mary was a member of the First Methodist Church and worked part time in various positions for Cooper Communities in the Cherokee Village area. Frosty died in 1967 and Mary continued living in Cherokee Village until moving to Glenwood in 2006. Mary was an avid bridge player, belonging to two duplicate clubs and one weekly club, for over 25 years in Cherokee Village.

In addition to her husbands, Horace Sawyer and Frosty Garrett, Mary was preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Claude Higgins, Roy Higgins, William Higgins, Rex Higgins, and Robert Higgins; sisters, Doris Chambers and husband Clyde, and Marjorie Dehr and husband Richard.

Mary is survived by her children, Judith Davis and husband Dick of Glenwood, Iowa, Jo Ellen Hoff and husband Larry of Mesa, Arizona, and Tomi Beck and husband Phil of San Diego, California; step children Larry Garrett of Alamogordo, New Mexico, and Donna Vogt of Eldridge, Iowa; eight grandchildren and ten great grandchildren; sisters-in-law Frances Higgins of Minnesota, Eleanor Higgins and Mural Higgins of California, and Dorothy Higgins of Arizona; nieces and nephews; other relatives and friends.

Private memorial services will be held at a later date. Hertz Funeral Home in Glenwood, Iowa is in charge of the arrangements.

Memorials may be made to the Arbor Day Foundation at http://www.arborday.org/join/tictim/, or 888-448-7337.

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