William Richard Garvin

Born July 8, 1940 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Billy moved to Melbourne, Florida as a child with his family where his parents built and operated Garvin’s Court Motel in the 1950’s.

He graduated from Melbourne High School and Brevard Community College. He became a true Floridian and an avid fisherman. He loved fishing for trout in the Indian River, dolling out his catch to friends and neighbors with the same gregarious generosity that was such an integral part of his personality. Bill Sargent, a sports writer for “Today” newspaper, and one of Billy’s favorite fishing buddies, often featured Billy in his columns, considering him one of the “best trout fisherman around; he knew how to work that Zara Spook!” In 1964, Billy married Connie Purdy while working as a design draftsman for PanAm at the Cape Canaveral Missile Range.

Then he enlisted in the Army and began studying at the Army’s Construction Design School, after which he was selected to the White House Army Signal Agency, within the Johnson Administration, which became the “White House Communications Agency” while Billy was there. It was during this time in his life that he designed a three-televisions cabinet President Johnson had requested for the Oval Office to allow him to watch broadcasts on the three television networks simultaneously. A photograph of LBJ with the cabinet was featured in “Life Magazine”; and it was the prototype which Elvis Presley replicated for the three tvs cabinet he used at Graceland. Billy returned to Melbourne after his military service. He worked for Pan Am, then began his own business, utilizing his artistic talents and architectural skills to design custom homes and offices throughout ‘The Space Coast’.

Billy suffered numerous health setbacks over the past few decades, and his ability to socialize and indulge in the Florida fishing he loved so much continued to decline. He is survived by his daughter Natalie Garvin Amento, son-in-law Joseph Amento, grandson Daniel, son Shane Garvin, daughter-in-law Elaina Garvin, granddaughter Chloe, and brother Bob Garvin, of Melbourne, and brother Tom Garvin, of Boulder, Colorado.

The family has requested that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to Howard Hughes & Olivia Newton John’s breast cancer research centers.

A memorial service for Billy will be conducted at 2:00 pm Monday, May 9, 2016 at Florida Memorial Gardens, 5950 South US Highway 1 Rockledge.