Garnett Burrell Winfrey

Garnett Burrell Winfrey, of Richmond passed away peacefully on Saturday July 29 at the age of 91. Born on July 8, 1926 in Bramwell, Mercer County, West Virginia, Garnett was the eldest of 3 children born to Fred Howard & Virginia Eggleston Winfrey. Garnett had fond memories of growing up on the family farm in West Virginia. Although he spent the last 57 years in Richmond, his roots were deep in West Virginia. Garnett will be remembered as a gentleman with unmatched integrity who was optimistic, intelligent, principled & genuine. He possessed an engaging sense of humor & a contagious smile. He had a strong devotion to God, his family, friends, and to the country he both loved & served proudly.

Garnett was fortunate to meet his wife, Alice Page on a blind date in 1942, but would not rekindle that spark until he returned home in 1945 from serving our country overseas in WW11. Garnett rose to the rank of Sergeant and served in the 11th Airborne Division in the Philippine and Japanese theatres. At the end of the war, he was chosen to serve on General Douglas MacArthur’s Honor Guard.

Garnett & Alice were married on January 20, 1948. He served in the army reserves at Fort Campbell, Kentucky & went on to earn a BS Degree in Business from Concord College in Athens, WV. The couple lived and worked in Garnett’s hometown of Princeton, WV for a number of years where he joined the Masons. In 1960, with first born daughter in tow, the couple moved to Richmond where he joined his childhood friend, Stan Smith at Atlantic Life. Garnett would follow Stan to Life of Virginia & earn his membership into The Chartered Life Underwriters where he enjoyed a career of 20 plus years. He went on to become Senior Vice President & Division Head where his strong leadership oversaw agencies in Ohio & states in the southeastern and southwestern part of the country. After retiring from Life of VA, he worked for several years at Special Service Agency and went on to teach English to countless immigrants for The County of Henrico.

Garnett was a devoted son, brother, husband, father, grandfather, friend, role model and mentor. Alice & Garnett shared a wonderful life together in Richmond and were blessed with a son and another daughter. Garnett was an avid hunter, fisherman, reader, jack of all trades around the house a fine gardener. He and Alice were lifelong members of Trinity United Methodist Church in Richmond and members of the Old Testament Class at Trinity for 50 plus years.

Garnet was predeceased by his wife, Alice Page of 63 years, & survived by their 3 children, Brenda Mullane (ne: Gerry) of Wayne, PA, Eric Winfrey (ne: Martha Rogers) of Mechanicsville, VA, Marsha Olander (ne: Jay) of Richmond, VA, 2 grandsons, 5 granddaughters & 1 great grandson. Garnett was predeceased by his brother Elwood, & survived by Elwood’s wife Janet White of Princeton, WV, his sister Wilma Reitz (ne: Jack) of Greenville, SC, sister-in-law Edna Southern of Princeton, WV, and sister-in-law Alma Lee Eden (ne: Gerald) of Roanoke, VA.

A service will be held at Woody Funeral Home- Parham, 1771 N. Parham Road, Richmond, Va. 23229 on August 3, 2017, at 2 p.m. Visitation will be one hour prior . In lieu of flowers the family requests that donations be sent in memory of Garnett to The USO (United Service Organizations) @ www.uso.org/Donate