Lawrence H. Garrett was born on January 30th, 1928, in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania, the second of six children of Irene and Donald Garrett. Larry was raised on the family farm in New Wilmington where he and his brothers and sisters helped tend 350 cattle, 500 hogs, and a 50 acre apple orchard. After graduating from New Wilmington High school in 1946, Larry attended Westminster College in New Wilmington where he met a young pretty lady who became the love of his life, Irene “Renee” Roberts.

Renee and Larry were married on June 18, 1955, while Larry was serving in the United States Army into which he had been drafted shortly after he graduated from Westminster. Larry received word that he had been accepted into the University of Pittsburgh Medical School after he received his draft notice but the draft deferral programs had not yet been developed, so instead of studying to become a doctor, Larry proceeded to become a lieutenant in the United States Army with the 11th Armored Calvary, where he trained tank crews for deployment to Korea and Europe.

Upon his discharge from the Army in 1953, Larry landed a job with Armco Steel, which was the start of his career in sales. While working full time for Armco, Larry attended classes at the University of Cincinnati, earning a Masters degree in metallurgy in 1955. For seven or eight years he was Armco’s top salesman. He was so effective at his job that one of his best customers, Caine Steel, hired him away from Armco. While with Caine Steel, he was introduced to the financial end of running a business and developed expertise in budgeting, credit issues, and long range planning.

After 18 months with Caine Steel, Larry received an offer from Armco to sell him Armco’s billboard business, which he accepted, and so started the business we know as Formetco. Working out of his basement, with Renee doing the typing and setting up the books, Larry formed Formetco late in 1968 and opened for business in March of 1969. That was the same year he hired Formetco’s first employee, John Gibb, who has stuck with Larry, through good and bad, for all of Formetco’s 40 years. Working 12 hours a day and 7 days a week soon began to pay off. Larry established Formetco as the largest manufacturer of billboard components in the country.

The success of Formetco is traceable directly to the man who built the company from scratch. Larry was a man of his word. He treated others with honor. The hundreds of friendships Larry developed over the years were based upon the warmth and respect he showed others, whether he was meeting them for the first time or whether they were golfing buddies he had known for years.

As many of you know, golf was an important part of Larry’s life. He loved to play golf, watch golf, and talk about golf. He traveled to and played on courses in Scotland and England. He served on the Board of Directors of the Atlanta Athletic Club for several years. Larry was also a big Braves fan, holding season tickets for many years. In recent years, he watched the Braves on television every chance he got.

Larry was community-minded, playing an active role in Republican politics, the Shriners, the Board of Directors of Gwinnett Technical College, and Pleasant Hill Presbyterian Church.

Larry’s family was his pride and joy. He and Renee were rewarded with two wonderful daughters, Maggie and Laurieann, who followed their dad in running Formetco’s business operations, although Laurieann first ran off to teach school for several years before joining her dad and sister at Formetco’s offices on Pleasant Hill Road. But Larry’s family was much larger than his wife and children and grandchildren.

When one came to work for Formetco, they soon found they were not just working for a company, but they became part of the Formetco family. There was a paternalistic element in Larry’s relationship with the people who came to work for Formetco. He believed he needed to watch over them, test them, and nurture them. He had a genuine care and concern for the people he hired. But unlike many businessmen, he believed that if one employee worked out well, that employee’s brother, or sister, or son, or daughter was likely to work out just as well. As a result, you find many families within the Formetco family.

Larry was preceded in death by his parents, his sister Jean, and his brother, Russell. He is survived by his loving wife, Renee, his brothers Charles and Richard, his sister, Carol, his daughters, Maggie Garrett Head and Laurieann Garrett Leech, and six grandchildren.

We will miss this fine, outstanding man.