William "Bill" Martin Garmon

William (Bill) Martin Garmon, 85, of Cary, NC, passed away on August 2, 2015 after a long battle with cancer. He will always be remembered as a loving husband and father, a proud grandfather, a good friend, a dedicated community leader, a hard-worker and a die-hard Wolfpack fan. Bill was always intensely curious and interested in people, their backgrounds, and where they were from, and made connections and new friends everywhere.

Bill was born on August 9, 1929, in Concord, NC, to the late Hubert T. and Minnie Litaker Garmon. He was the first of his family to attend college, graduating first from NC State University, and then receiving his M.S. in Agricultural Economics from Clemson University. Bill served his country in the US Army at Fort Jackson, SC. Following his military service and education, Bill began work with the NC State Extension Service, where he worked with 4-H leaders and youth for 32 years until his retirement. To honor his love of NC State, he and his wife Martha recently established a Caldwell Alumni Scholarship Endowment in their name, to benefit deserving students in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

Bill was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Cary for more than 50 years. He served on the Cary Town Council for 16 years, and was a member of the Triangle J Council of Government. Bill was honored when the Town of Cary Operations Center was named the William M. Garmon Building in his honor. Bill was chairman of the NC Safety Council for 8 years, and was a key contributor to the “Operation Lifesaver” program to improve railroad safety in NC. He was a member of the Cary Rotary Club for 40 years, and was a Paul Harris Fellow. Bill was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine by then Governor Bob Scott, an award that is presented to outstanding North Carolinians who have a proven record of service to the State.

William is survived by his wife of 60 years, Martha Martin Garmon; daughter Lynn Garmon Ryan (Bill) of Cincinnati, OH; son William Martin (Marty) Garmon, Jr.; and granddaughters Devin and Erin Ryan.

Visitation will be on Thursday, August 6 from 6 – 8 p.m. at Brown-Wynne Funeral Home in Cary. The funeral service will be held on Friday, August 7 at 2 pm at First United Methodist Church in Cary. A private burial for family and friends will follow at Hillcrest Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to First United Methodist Church of Cary as “Memorial Fund – William M. Garmon”.