Sydney Garrett

Sydney Robert “Syd” Garrett left us suddenly after a tremendous fight against a brief illness on Thursday, July 23, 2026 at the age of 66. Because Syd loved the Lord with all of his heart, soul, mind, and strength, faith makes us sure that Syd now sees Jesus face to face, and he no longer has any impediment to his sight.

Syd demonstrated and communicated his love to his family in at least a thousand different ways. His parents, Leland E. Garrett, Sr. and Mary Butler Garrett, both of whom he greatly loved, admired, and sought to emulate, preceded him in death. Syd is survived by his wife, Amy Holt Garrett; daughter, Marybeth Garrett CroweTipton (Jared); and precious grandson, Noah Matthew. Also surviving Syd are his sister, Elizabeth “Beth” McDaniel (Curt); his brothers, Dr. Leland “Lee” Garrett, Jr. (Nancy), and Dale Garrett (Diane), as well as many nieces and nephews. As his family can attest, Syd was not only a wonderful husband, amazing “Dad” and “Papa,” great brother, and fun uncle, he was the family’s tech expert. In fact, Syd frequently joked that he could be reached at 1-800-CALLSYD.

Born on March 18, 1960 in Easley, SC, Syd was delivered by his uncle, Dr. Sydney Garrett, for whom he was named. Growing up in Greenville, SC, Syd enjoyed making friends in the neighborhood, church, and school. He was fascinated by science, math, and the arts. In 1978, he graduated from J.L. Mann High School in Greenville, where his mom was one of his teachers. Following high school, Syd attended Furman University where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Mathematics and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa in 1981.

In the summer of 1981, Syd left Greenville to move to Lewisville, Texas to begin his career at Texas Instruments as Software Systems Engineer. Syd met Amy in 1986 through the Single Adult ministry at First Baptist Church in Lewisville, and they married there in 1988. In 1993, God brought one of His greatest gifts into Syd’s life when daughter, Marybeth was born on March 19th, a day after his birthday! He loved getting to celebrate with Marybeth. Syd continued with TI/Raytheon moving more and more towards managerial roles until 1998, when he was recruited by Cisco Systems in San Jose, CA for the position of Senior Manager, Software Success Engineering. Syd thoroughly enjoyed the challenging environment at Cisco for many years. After retiring from Cisco in 2019, Syd and Amy moved back to his home state of South Carolina to be closer to Marybeth and her husband, Jared.

In every place Syd and Amy lived (TX, CA, NC, and SC), Syd served as an Adult Bible Study Leader/Teacher. In most churches where they were members, Syd served as Deacon, on committees, and in choir. He particularly loved singing in the choir and being involved in one way or another in Christmas and Easter presentations.

Those who knew Syd well are familiar with his Dad jokes, his analytical mind, his natural ability to encourage and motivate, his readiness to give a needed hug, his love of tech gadgets, and his enthusiasm for science, space launches, self-driving cars, and “Star Trek.” In addition, Syd did more than his part to keep Hallmark cards in business, as Amy can surely tell you.

We will remember the life of Syd Garrett on Tuesday, July 28, 2026, at Riverland Hills Baptist Church located at 201 Lake Murray Blvd. in Irmo, SC. Visitation begins at 1:00 PM, followed by the service at 2:00 PM.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a memorial donation to either Riverland Hills Baptist Church or Blood Cancer United.

Dunbar Funeral Home, Dutch Fork Chapel, is assisting the family.