[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 180 (Wednesday, November 14, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1526]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           TRIBUTE TO FRED D.
                              GARRETT, SR.

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, November 14, 2018

  Mr. CLYBURN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a fellow South 
Carolinian and longtime friend, Fred D. Garrett, Sr.
  Born in Salley, South Carolina to the late Rev. John E. Garrett and 
First Lady Mattie Baston Garrett, Fred Garrett grew up in his father's 
churches. He carried throughout his life the values of servant 
leadership and community engagement he learned through his childhood 
experiences in the church.
  After graduating high school in 1943, Mr. Garrett enlisted in the 
United States Navy and served through the end of World War II in a 
segregated unit. Upon completing his military service, he returned home 
to South Carolina where he enrolled in South Carolina State College. He 
graduated in 1951 with a Bachelors in Agricultural Science with plans 
to modernize the state's agricultural industry.
  Mr. Garrett began his career in public service working for Florence 
County, South Carolina as an agent for Clemson University's 
Agricultural Extension Program. Shortly after marrying his wife of 66 
years, Mamie Williams Garrett, he moved to Greenville, South Carolina 
and became Clemson's Agricultural Extension Agent there.
  In 1958 he was hired part-time as an employee of the then Watkins, 
Arnold and Sheppard Mortuary. He quickly became a part-owner/manager of 
the business, which changed its name to Watkins, Garrett & Woods 
Mortuary. Fred Garrett, Sr. became sole owner of the mortuary in 1993.
  Mr. Garrett has served his community in numerous positions including 
his role as a lifetime member of the NAACP, membership with the 
Greenville County Planning Commission, a member of the Rainbow PUSH 
Steering Committee, board member with the Greenville Urban League/Urban 
League Upstate, and board member of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce. 
Mr. Garrett was also a member of the Mu Pi Chapter of Omega Psi Phi 
Fraternity, Inc. He received many awards for his service and business 
leadership, most recently a Business and Community Service Award from 
the Minority Economic Development Institute.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask you and my colleagues to join me in honoring the 
life, leadership, and legacy of service of this outstanding South 
Carolinian.

                          ____________________