Guy Harrison Garner, of Lenoir, North Carolina, lost his long fight with cancer and passed away peacefully in his home surrounded by loved ones on Wednesday, June 8th, 2022 at the age of 58. He was born on November 8th, 1963 to James and Charlotte Garner in Pascagoula, MS.
He graduated from Pascagoula High School in 1981 and graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1984. He had a long career of serving the public in food services that started with managing Ruby Tuesday in Mobile, Alabama and Huntsville, Alabama; Manager of LaFont Inn Restaurant in Pascagoula, MS and Food Service Director for the Monroe City Schools. For the last 33 years, he was the Child Nutrition Director for the Caldwell County Schools. Guy was very innovative in practices within school food service. He was among the first in the state to bring computers into school cafeterias allowing for greater accuracy in tracking transactions by students and adults and tracking free and reduced meal status of eligible students, eventually being able to tie all schools to a central database. Because of this early work with databases, School Food Service Directors from around the state looked to him for guidance. As mentioned, Guy developed the concept of co-oping with other school districts to have buying power similar to the very large school districts. Another innovation that Guy developed over 20 years ago was to create a pool of permanent cafeteria substitutes who were trained to perform any job needed for any school as needed. He challenged all employees to strive beyond what they thought they were capable of. Guy was never satisfied with the status quo; he was always alert for new and innovative ways of improving school food service. Guy definitely thought “outside the box” and expected everyone else to do the same. He was also president of the Co-Op of Directors of School Food Service for the Northern Region of North Carolina and a member of the School Nutrition Association of North Carolina. Guy was a member of St. James Episcopal Church in Lenoir, NC. He enjoyed woodworking, grilling, cooking, gardening, boating, and spending time with family and friends.
He was preceded in death by his father, James Lewis Garner and mother, Charlotte Myers Garner of Pascagoula, Mississippi; and his sister, Ginger Garner Nicholson of Westland, Michigan.
He is survived by his loving wife, Laurie Pace Garner of Lenoir, North Carolina; two sons, Ethan Garner of Raleigh, North Carolina and Ryan Garner (Katie) of Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington; Sisters, Vickey Garner Lovorn (Buddy) of Pascagoula, Mississippi, Jamie Garner Willis (David) of Pascagoula, Mississippi; nieces, nephews, extended family, and multiple friends.
Information will be announced at a later date regarding a celebration of life service in Lenoir, NC.
Condolences may be expressed online at https://jacksonfuneralservice.com/condolences/.