Calvin Garner's Obituary
Calvin Garner of Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, passed away on April 30, 2026, closing a long, full life that began on March 28, 1937. Born and raised in Tulsa, he was the youngest of five boys to Samuel David and Roma Lee Cross Garner.
After high school, he followed the road west to Lubbock, Texas - and in 1955, followed his brothers into service. He enlisted in the United States Navy during the Cold War, serving eight years in the Navy Reserve. Calvin stood watch on the USS Canberra CAG-2, a Guided Missile Heavy Cruiser cutting through the Atlantic and Mediterranean, and later served as an Electronics Technician aboard the USS Observation Island EAG-154. Those years at sea stayed with him, as did the flat-top haircut he kept for the rest of his life.
On November 13, 1959, Calvin married Carolyn K. Moses, and together they had three children - Robbie Curry (John), who later blessed him with two granddaughters; Dionnie Lynn Lawhead-Garr; and Sara Kaye Lawhead Harper (Justin). Norman Garner followed, and then Tamila Williams (Larry), who blessed him with two grandchildren, Rachel Leigh Williams Blincoe (Nick) and Benjamin Mark Williams.
Life carried Calvin back to Tulsa, where he married Shirley Joann Cole on December 31, 1968. With her came a stepdaughter, Anita Joann Geiger-Merrick (Tim), who blessed him with two granddaughters, Natalie and Brooke Merrick. Later, another son, Travis Wayne Garner, completed the wide, blended family.
Across his 89 years, Calvin worked with his hands, his mind, and his heart. As a skilled carpenter with Local Union 943, he helped create movie sets for Tex, The Outsiders, and Rumble Fish - a quiet claim to fame he carried with humble pride. He sold cars and insurance, drove medical supply routes, crafted wood into custom bookshelves, and built custom homes. He also became a landlord, buying and renting lots, and even led the association that fought to prevent eminent domain of several properties. His life was built through hard work and stubborn determination.
But Calvin's greatest legacy was the family he raised. He was a father who fought for his children, who stretched every dollar, who packed a family of six into a camper on the back of a pickup to visit relatives in Texas each year, vacation at Worlds of Fun in Kansas, and see the ocean along the Gulf in Houston. Evenings found him in his chair, remote in hand, laughing at Hee Haw, The Sonny and Cher Show, or Laugh-In. He loved chicken-fried steak, salt pork with fried potatoes and green beans - the only vegetable he really like - and every Thanksgiving, Shirley baked him his favorite raisin pie. He smelled of Old Spice, because that's what his children bought him every Christmas. And he loved the color red, especially when it thundered past on a big truck.
Calvin had a great sense of humor - always ready with a tease or a quick joke - and even with dementia, his laugh remained contagious, whether he was chuckling along with a sitcom's laugh track or at the "Ken" scene in Barbie.
In the quiet ways that matter most, Calvin showed his love: slipping a few extra dollars into a hand for gas or bills, taking a son along on his work route, or stopping by for coffee during the day. He made sure each child felt seen in their own way.
Calvin's story lingers in the people who survive him - three children, six grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren - not just in memory, but in the habits, humor, stubbornness, and heart woven into the lives of those he loved.
A graveside service will be held at Floral Haven Memorial Gardens on May 22, 2026, at 2:30 P.M. Please use the entrance from 71st Street and turn right at the first intersection to the Garden of Devotion, located across from the pond.
In lieu of flowers, please consider donating to your local Meals on Wheels organization, at
https://action.mealsonwheelsamerica.org
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