William A. Garrison, Sr., 81 of Danecroft Avenue, Greenville, died Sunday, February 1, 2009 at Fatima Hospital. He was the husband of the late Thelma Rose (Gillpatrick) Garrison who died this past October. They had been married for 58 years.
Born in Newport, a son of the late Russell W. and Mabel E. (Stone) Garrison. He had been a resident of Greenville for 56 years.
Mr. Garrison was a machinist for Brown and Sharpe for 30 years. He had also worked at Hamel Dowell Manufacturing. He was Past President of Local #1088, International Association of Machinist and Aerospace Workers and the New England Conference of Machinist. He had been the Secretary/Treasurer for District #64, International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers and Past President and Honorary Life Member of the Greystone Social Club. He was a member of the Smithfield Senior Center and was an avid fan of the Red Sox and Patriots.
He is survived by his children William A. Garrison, Jr. and his wife Arlene, of Greenville, and Nancy E. Bates and her husband Russell, of Danielson, CT, six grandchildren; Cori, Hillary, Dean and his wife Laura, Colin, William and Patrick, and siblings; Carol Smith and Marie Kent both of Middletown, and Lawrence Garrison of Garner, NC . He was the father of the late Russell G. Garrison and brother of the late Irene Bowlby, Shirley Fougere and James Garrison.
The funeral services will be private. In lieu of flowers donations in his memory may be made to the Diabetes Foundation of RI, 1117 Douglas Avenue, Unit 2, North Providence, RI 02904