Lloyd Bernard Garrett Sr.

Born in 1940, in Danville, Virginia, the eldest child of Edwin Winston Garrett and Kitty Wright Garrett, Bernie was proud of the many jobs he had growing up, from delivering milk and newspapers, to caddying for players at the local golf course. Like the protagonist of his favorite book Tom Sawyer, Bernie loved to have fun, but he also had a keen mind and a gift for math. Bernie graduated from George Washington High School in Danville, Virginia, and went on to pursue higher education with distinction. He earned both his Bachelors and Masters of Science degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Virginia Polytechnic Institute, followed by a Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering from North Carolina State University.

Bernie devoted 35 years of his professional career to NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton. Early in his career, Bernie met the love of his life, Judy Carpenter. The two married on December 19, 1964, and they celebrated exactly 61 years of marriage to the day of his passing. Bernie and Judy were each other's biggest supporters and their long and happy marriage was an anchor and inspiration for their three children whom they raised in Yorktown, Virginia. He enjoyed gardening, reading, dancing with Judy, playing bridge, traveling, and especially golfing.

In fact, Bernie was an accomplished golfer. As a member of the Virginia Tech golf team, he helped win the Southern Conference Championship in 1961, which qualified the team for the NCAA Championship. The love of golf inspired Bernie and Judy to move to the Stonehouse neighborhood upon retirement so that they could enjoy many more years of golfing together.

In his work at NASA, Bernie served as Head of the Spacecraft Analysis Branch in the Space Systems Division at Langley. He was a leader in the development of interactive computer-aided design capabilities to support spacecraft systems, and notably managed the development of several science analysis processing systems for the Viking Project Mission to Mars in his role as Flight Operations Science Analysis and Evaluation Group Chairman. He received ten NASA awards, including the Exceptional Service Medal for his contributions to the Viking Project. He also received the national award for Technical Excellence from the Interagency Committee on Automatic Data Processing for his accomplishments in interactive computer-aided design and his contributions to federal information technology.

Bernie was always quick to smile and laugh and to want that for others. He was known for his love of jokes, quick one-liners, and propensity to sing along to rock and roll hits from the 1950s while driving his Hokie maroon convertible Thunderbird. He believed that hard work, loyalty, and humility were key to success in life. And he believed that life was a mystery as wondrous as outer space, and it should be lived with a sense of fun and adventure. He considered himself a lucky man in so many ways, and those who called him husband, father, brother, son, neighbor, or friend, know that they are the true lucky ones to have known and loved him.

Bernie is survived by his wife, Judy; his brother, Wright Garrett of Danville, VA; his children, Bernie, Jr. (Megan), Kendall Turner (Jason), and Kelly Zalatimo (David); and his grandchildren, Reilly, Cormac, Quinn, Garrett, Olivia, Abby, and Sofie.

A service will be held at Williamsburg Presbyterian Church at 1 p.m. on January 3, 2026.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that you make a donation to your favorite charity in his honor. Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.NelsenWilliamsburg.com.