Gregory Allan Garman

Greg Garman lost his battle with Frontotemporal Dementia. He finally received his diploma, graduating to the place he had longed to be... just not this soon!

Greg, a true adventurer, was born in Pasadena, California, on September 18, 1960. He was delivered on the kitchen table, which could explain his insatiable appetite for life! An advanced rock climber, skilled mountain climber, marathoner and ultra-marathoner, bike rider, hiker...and the list goes on and on. There was truly nothing this man couldn't do.

Greg's life was a testament to service and dedication. At the age of 3, he moved to Mexico City with his parents, Larry and Addie Garman. Joining him were his older brother, Rusty, and his younger sister, Candy. After one year of immersive language training, they were called to move as missionaries in the Church of the Nazarene to the Amazon jungles of Peru. There, they spent the next 45 years in the most remote assignment in the denomination, working with the indigenous Aguaruna tribe.

Accessible only by boat or pontoon airplane, Greg grew up in the most beautiful and wondrous wonderland a boy could hope for. While his father worked as a doctor specializing in Jungle Medicine and his mother as a medical assistant, they also focused their love on starting a Bible School in the vast remoteness of the jungle. All the while, Greg hunted for alligators, swam in rivers, fished for piranhas, stalked monkeys, capybaras, jaguars, and anything that crawled, swam, or ran with blowguns to supply the family and village with food. He sprayed the Witch Doctors with water as he and his brother introduced the Aguaruna people to "flying on water", a pastime Americans endearingly call waterskiing. They thought they were out of their minds! His necklace - THAT HE NEVER TOOK OFF! - the tooth of a jaguar he hunted, was a testament to his upbringing. His daughter, Spencer, has been the owner of that tooth since July 25, 2025.

Greg attended boarding schools in both Pucallpa, Peru, and Quito, Ecuador. While in Pucallpa, his younger brother, Tim, was introduced to the world. Greg's Boarding School brothers and sisters remain among his closest friends. Many of them gathered to celebrate a Pucallpa reunion just last year.

In 1979, Greg moved to San Diego, California, to attend Point Loma Nazarene University on a soccer scholarship. He played well but barely made it through that first year due to severe culture shock. He sold his meager belongings and repurchased a one-way ticket to the jungle, with the intent to never return to the States again! During his two years back in Peru, Greg worked with his parents at the Nueva Horizonte Mission Station. These two years would prove to be defining years. Feeling called to Ministry, Greg returned to San Diego and PLNU in 1982.

His years at Point Loma were great ones! He was known as "the guy from the Amazon"; he reveled in soccer, playing pranks on people, rock climbing at Joshua Tree, waterskiing at local lakes, taking chapel, AND studying seriously. He met many lifelong friends while there, all of whom continued to stay in touch - accompanied by LOTS of laughter!

While at Point Loma, he met his future wife, Leslie, at a church service and asked her out to a dollar-a-slice pizza dinner in Ocean Beach. The rest, as they say, is history. Greg and Leslie

were an amazing team in ministry. They youth-pastored in Los Osos to a large group of kids who they still consider "family". While in Los Osos, they led groups down to the Amazon, where lives were changed and love became foundational. Some of those "kids" continued going to the Jungle with Greg for years to come!

Greg's family was his greatest joy. After 4 years in Los Osos, where their daughter, Aubree, was born, they moved to Carpinteria, California. Together, Greg and Leslie were gardeners, painters, janitors, nursery workers, Sunday School teachers, music leaders, pianists, Children's Church teachers, and an "after-church restaurant", where Leslie wowed church visitors with vibrant cooking. Their daughter, Aubree, learned to be comfortable in ANYONE's arms, as her folks were always busy! On a Sunday morning, Leslie went into labor while playing the piano. They took the phrase "The show must go on!" very seriously! That night, their second daughter, Spencer, was born. Again, both kids went everywhere with their folks: camping, the beach, isolated Peruvian jungles, you name it. With their family and good friends, life was very gratifying.

After 4 years in Carpinteria, the family moved to Santa Clarita, where Greg pastored the Newhall Church of the Nazarene for 22 years. Again, so much work and so much enjoyment! He enjoyed preaching and leading in-depth sermon series. Another joy for him was greeting every person in the church on Sunday mornings. Taking groups of people to his homeland, Peru, was a must, and no one visited his home more than Aubree and Spencer. Along the way, the three of them rode their bikes over the Andes Mountains to the Mission Station, hiked the Inca Trail to Machu Picchu - a place everyone should visit! - and lived a life that was full and fun. When Greg was at work, though, he worked. Life-long friendships were, again, born here. Much of his off time, if he truly had any, was spent running with his beloved Hamsters, a running group that met in the early mornings and pushed each other every day. Greg considered them his brothers, and their camaraderie and shared commitment to physical health were a significant part of his life.

After his impactful tenure at the Newhall Church of the Nazarene, Greg was elected as District Superintendent of the Los Angeles District of the Church of the Nazarene. In this role, he oversaw the spiritual and administrative aspects of numerous churches, providing guidance and support to pastors and congregations. He served at that position for 7 years, until his health forced him to retire.

Greg was a peacemaker, a jokester, a preacher, a jungle-boy, and an athlete...but his joy was being a son, a brother, a husband, a father, and an abuelo. He loved his parents and siblings, as well as Leslie's parents and siblings, and the love was mutual. Leslie often joked that her best marriage advice to anyone was to "Marry someone who went to Boarding School" because they HAD to clean up after themselves! His joys were his kids, Aubree, Spencer, Logan, and his grandchildren, Aura and Theia. On his last day on this earth, he acknowledged how grateful he was for them. Lest you think this only happened on that day, it actually happened every day, numerous times a day! They were the joys of his heart.

Greg is survived by his wife, Leslie, his daughter Aubree, his daughter Spencer and "son-in-love" Logan, his granddaughters Aura and Theia, his father, Larry and his wife Leslie (hereby referred to as "Leslie #1), his sister Candy and husband James, brother Tim and wife Kelly, and many nieces and nephews. He is also survived by Leslie's family, who considered him

"brother": Leslie's brother, Joel, her sister Robin, and her younger, balder, brother Steven and wife Karen, along with nieces and nephews on that side.

He is pre-deceased by his mother, Addie; Leslie's folks, Dearl and Bobbie; his brother, Rusty; his sister-in-law, Dana; and his nephew, Grant, and niece, Camila.

If Greg were writing this, he would close with his favorite Bible verses, which are Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge HIM and HE WILL direct your paths."

Sweet, crazy Greg is now probably running a sub-2:00 hour marathon, climbing Huascaran, eating grub worms, enjoying the reunion with family members, and greeting all the people who are lined up to hug him and thank him for his impact and blessing on their lives.

(Memorial service will be held on August 9, 2025, at the Newhall Church of the Nazarene and will be live-streamed on their YouTube page