In Memory

Turner Lee "Tim" Garr - Class Of 1961

Turner Lee Tim Garr

Yearbook quote: "A friendly word for all he meets."

Turner “Tim” Garr
Powell’s Hardware owner/operator, outdoorsman
 

Turner Lee “Tim” Garr, California native and longtime Claremont resident, died on January 7, 2009 at Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center. Mr. Garr, a third generation Claremonter, was 65. 

Mr. Garr was born in Pomona on October 20, 1943 to Hester Palmer Garr and the late Pomona city attorney, Turner Mathias Garr, who died 6 months prior to his son’s birth.  

The Garr family, primarily due to Mr. Garr’s father being Pomona’s attorney and his grandfather being the city’s superintendent of schools, was well known in the area. 

“The whole city of Pomona heralded [Tim’s] birth,” noted his sister, Pamela G. Herrlinger of Claremont, remembering the death of another Garr child, who would have been their brother, at the age of 8. 

“It was a real blow to the city,” noted Carol Garr, wife of 44 years to Tim Garr, explaining that Tim’s birth softened the sadness surrounding the death of the other young Garr child, Palmer Lee Garr. 

After Mr. Garr’s mother remarried, this time to Myron F. Powell, he moved with his family to a house on Harrison Avenue in Claremont. A young boy at the time, he attended Sycamore Elementary School, moving on to graduate from El Roble Intermediate School and Claremont High School. 

As a boy, Mr. Garr worked at Powell’s Department Store on Yale Avenue, later to become Powell’s Hardware, under the watchful eyes of his grandfather Powell, “Pop,” and his grandmother, Ruth K. Powell, who taught him the value of hard work and discipline (Ms. Powell retired from Powell‘s Department store at age 90).  His grandmother served on the board of trustees for Claremont following certification for cityhood in 1907 and was also Claremont’s first postmaster. 

“Her legacy lies in the strength of character which she instilled in her grandson and by her many years of service to the people of Claremont,” the family wrote in a remembrance.

As a young man, Mr. Garr worked for Claremont businessmen Augie Pierce, Bill Goodchap and Ried Matier who taught him their businesses from the ground up, including the auto repair and service station business. This foundation led Mr. Garr to establish his own Richfield Service Station before he was 30. The service station stood at the corner of Indian Hill Boulevard and Second Avenue.

When Ruben Cespedes retired from Claremont Hardware, Mr. Garr became the driving force behind changing Powell’s Department Store into Powell’s Hardware, which he owned an operated first with his stepfather, Myron Powell, and later with his brother-in-law, Albert Herrlinger.

In the 80s, Mr. Garr established Turner’s Trailer Sales, a family RV dealership in Montclair. Closing the business in the early 90s, he next became the manager of Chino Lumber.

An avid outdoorsman, Mr. Garr began to hunt at the age of 15 under the guidance of his lifelong friend and mentor, Edward Landreth. His favorite hunting spot was Summit Meadows in the High Sierras, where he took his final hunting trip last September. He also enjoyed fishing.

It was at Claremont High School that Mr. Garr met his future wife, Carol, who he married in 1964.

Just under 2 years ago, Mr. Garr and his wife moved to Riverside.

Mr. Garr is survived by his wife, Carol Garr of Riverside; his daughter and son-in-law, Susanna and Joseph Meister, and their 2 sons, Joseph and Jason Meister, all of Alta Loma; by his son and daughter-in-law, Turner L. Garr II and Rachel Garr, and their 2 children, Amanda and Turner L. Garr III, all of Kearney, Missouri; by his sister and brother-in-law, Pamela and Albert Herrlinger of Claremont; and by numerous nieces and nephews.

Graveside services were held on January 14, 2009 at Oak Park Cemetery in Claremont.

Memorial contributions may be made to the Robert and Beverly Lewis Cancer Care Center, 1920 Royalty Dr., Pomona, CA 91761.