Richard Garrison

Richard was born in Delhi, NY on 18 Aug 1953 to Lt. Donald Linn Garrison and Jean Mathews Garrison. On Tuesday, December 3, 2024, after years fighting against degenerative effects of the terminal illness of Lewy Body Dementia, former publisher, author, Butts County deputy sheriff, federal Customs agent, GBI agent, long time Emory University police sergeant, book collector, fantasy and sci fi art aficionado, loving husband, step-parent and grandparent, and fond uncle, and loyal friend and respected colleague of too many people to mention, Richard Dwight Garrison fell in his home, suffering a brain injury in the process. On Monday, December 9, he succumb to that injury. The Lewy Body Dementia which he had battled determinedly- and perhaps stubbornly- for several years played a part in his battle to fight the brain injury.

In his early adulthood, Richard acquired an offset printing press and began to publish both periodicals and art books. His love of art- particularly the sci-fi and fantasy genres, which had begun during his teens, continued throughout his life, during the course of which he made the acquaintance of, and in some cases developed relationships with, some of the most noted artists including Roy G. Krenkel, Frank Frazetta, Jeffrey Catherine Jones, Kelly Freas, Vaughn Bode, Bernie Wrightson, Virgil Finley and others in those, and related, genres. Richard possessed a art collection spanning 50 years. He loved attending ComicCon and DragonCon. He organized and hosted DeepSouthCon in 1978. Though not a graphic artist, himself, his name and, often, personage were known to fellow aficionados, both in our country and abroad. But, that was merely one facet of his life and personality.

Another, at times all most encompassing, side to Richard was as the true personification of what a "peace officer" was intended to be- someone who protects in a spirit of service, and who protects not only people, property, and the peace, but also the rights and dignity of even the accused. His expertise extended beyond firearms, defensive tactics, rappelling, "flash-bangs" and the like, to investigation, intelligence collection and analysis, and de-escalation techniques. In other words, he strove to be the "total package," and consistently went above and beyond to achieve that. He was as tough of a cop as any situation required, but without ever violating the rights of a suspect, and with as compassion as situations allowed. He also shared his knowledge and abilities with others. He was certified to instruct in several specialized subjects, and trained not only Emory officers, but also, on occasion, officers from other, usually much larger agencies. He also shared with other agencies and entities the fruits of his intelligence gathering and analysis, which, along with his role in dignitary protection, earned the appreciation and praise of the FBI, the Secret Service, the State Department Office of Diplomatic Security, the Department of Justice, NYPD Intelligence, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and the offices of His Holiness, the Dalai Lama. He was member of the FBI/DoJ's Joint Terrorism Task Force, and an introduction to Sgt. Richard Garrison was included in the orientation of every FBI special agent assigned to the Atlanta office's Domestic Terrorism unit.

For all that, and his hulking physical stature, Richard was, at heart, a teddy bear- a softie. Frugal in regard to his own wants and needs, he was quietly generous to others. Though he had no children of his own, he adored his step grand children, their children, and his niece, and though he at first pretended to find them annoying, he was putty in the paws of his wife Cindy's two Chihuahuas, Rudy and Jessica, who predeceased him, earlier this year. Richard and Cindy also thoroughly enjoyed providing transportation for rescue animals to assist in finding them new homes.

Richard leaves behind his beloved- treasured- wife, Cynthia Green, his brother James Garrison (Connie), her grandchildren Elizabeth Eaves (David), Rachel Green, great grandchildren Madeline, Alice, and Belle, his niece Rebecca Smith (Shane), and cousin Pandora Ahlstrom. He also leaves behind not only many friends and former colleagues, but also countless people whose lives he touched, and were better for that. Perhaps nothing better illustrates that than the fact that many of expressions of loss and condolence have come from people- now middle aged, with college-age children, who met "Sgt. Garrison" during their own university years, and who regarded him with both respect and fondness. His professional friends, colleagues, and countless people whose lives he touched in ways that made those lives better spanned four decades.

A celebration of life will be held on Saturday 11 Jan 2025 at 11AM at the funeral home of A. S. Turner and Sons, 2773 North Decatur Rd, Decatur, GA 30033. The service will be streamed from the website of the funeral home.