Wayne Garrett

With heavy hearts we announce the passing of beloved husband, father, and Grandfather, Staff Sergeant Albert Wayne Garrett, United States Army (Retired), who passed away on the morning of November 10, 2025. Wayne was a native of Temple, Texas. He was born July 15th, 1949, at Scott and White Hospital to Aubrey Lee Garrett, of Temple and Edna Earline Russell, of Crawford, Texas. Wayne was their second child along with his older brother Lynn Alvin Garrett. He graduated from Temple High School in 1967 and remained a proud and loyal Wildcat until his passing. He married his first wife Nancy Tweed and had one son Kristopher William Aulie on April 18th, 1976. Wayne married his second wife, Debbie Anderson, of Temple in March 1980. They just shared their 45th anniversary on March 15th, 2025. The couple had their son, Matthew Brandon Garrett, on December 11th, 1981. He has 3 grandchildren, Kristopher William Aulie Jr., Jonathan Aulie, and Layla Madison Garrett.

Wayne was drafted to the United States Army September 3rd, 1969. After basic training and quartermaster school he was stationed at U.S. Army Garrison Hanau until 1972. One of his favorite stories was of standing in line at LaGuardia airport and one line was for Vietnam and his line went to Germany. He was honorably discharged on August 21, 1971, and he returned home to Temple. He was able to get a job as a Respiratory Therapy Technician at the Central Texas Veterans Hospital in Temple. This service experience led him to want to rejoin the military, so he re-enlisted on May 15th, 1984, to the Texas National Guard and was active duty assigned. He retired from the Army on April 30th, 2002, after 22 years of total service and went back to work at the Temple VA Hospital as a surgical supply technician. He retired from the VA in 2016. He was employed by Johnson Brothers Ford in Temple as a greeter (“hawk”) until the time of his passing and enjoyed his coworkers and meeting and talking with everyone who came into the dealership.

Wayne led a life of joy and community service. There wasn’t a joke he couldn’t tell or prank he couldn’t pull. Even with the recent loss of the use of his legs, he was still able to pull pranks on the nurses at MD Anderson Hospital in Houston. He was member of the Sunset Evening Lions Club for several years. His call for service continued after his conversion to Catholicism. He became a member of the Knights of Columbus and was a 4th degree knight. He served as Grand Knight of Council #3444 and as Faithful Navigator of Assembly #1138. He also served the Knights as a District Deputy. When his son Brandon joined baseball, Wayne immediately signed up as the team’s coach. He coached the team until Little League, when Brandon decided to stop baseball and joined the Boy Scouts of America. Wayne started as a Tiger Cub leader, then Pack leader of Pack 152, Scoutmaster of Troop 152, and lastly, he served on the district board for Scouts. He attained Vigil status in the Order of the Arrow, graduated from Wood Badge, was a member of the Nuts-and-Bolts society, and volunteered many days to help with various camps and projects. One of his proudest accomplishments was completing a trek at Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico. He remained active and helpful in both the Knights and Scouting, both of which were held deep in his heart. He served as a member of the Temple High School Air Force Junior ROTC Booster Club from 1998 until 2000. He was a member of the Temple Public Safety Advisory Board for several years serving his community.

Wayne enjoyed spending his free time with family and friends. If you met Wayne, you were his friend. He enjoyed going to baseball games to see the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers. He loved attending Round Rock Express games with his father-in-law and brother-in-law and watching the Dallas Cowboys or the Houston Texans on gameday. His best days were on weekends when he could go hit a golf ball around because he never dared to consider himself a golfer. He enjoyed attending the Army-Air Force classic and went to several Texas A&M and University of North Texas games, but these were excuses to visit Brandon and Layla. Thanks to his sons and grandchildren, he learned to like choir performances and orchestra concerts, which he claimed made him a “fine arts expert”. In his later years he got to travel more. He went on a trip to Hawaii and took a road trip with Debbie to Maine and back. When home, he enjoyed being a taste tester for all the treats and meals provided by his mother-in-law. He liked to go out and about Temple, attending several coffee groups each morning, and visiting his beloved Jody’s with Debbie a couple of nights a week. But his favorite activity of all was going with the scouts or friends, Friday nights in the fall, to see his Wildcats.

Wayne is survived by his wife Debbie Garrett of Temple, sons Kristopher Aulie (Pam)of Collinsville, TX and Brandon Garrett (Michelle) of Aubrey, TX. Grandchildren include Kristopher Aulie Jr., Jonathan Aulie, and Layla Garrett. Adopted parents were his beloved in-laws, Ray and Patricia Anderson of Temple, TX. He is also survived by his brother-in-law Lynn Anderson of Temple and Curtis Anderson (Terri), nephew Conrad Anderson (Tiffany) from Jacksonville, FL, and his two cousins Rhonda Johns (Doug) and Sheila Jones (Randy) of Troy, TX. He is preceded in death by his parents, Aubrey and Edna, and brother Lynn.

The family would like to extend their deepest gratitude to all of Wayne’s care teams as he battled cancer for 7 years. A special thank you to Dr. Bansal and nurse Sarah, Dr. Mike Martin, Dr. Newbrough, Dr. Autumn Stratton, Dr. Danko and nurse Brianna, Dr. Gouveia and all the nurses and staff at Baylor Scott and White Hospital that he considered an extension of his family and loved so much for all the commitment and care shown to him and the family. We would also like to thank the teams at MD Anderson Hospital, TIRR Hermann Memorial Hospital and Morada Nursing Facility for making his final battle as comforting and with as thorough care as possible.

Services will be held November 21, 2025, at St. Luke Catholic Church, Wayne’s church family of many years and which he loved. Visitation will begin at 9:00am, followed by a rosary at 10:00am and the funeral mass at 10:30am. He will be inurned at St. Luke Catholic Church columbarium following the mass.