Thomas Garren

Memorials may be made to St. Patrick's Catholic Church or St. Patrick's Catholic School, Decatur, IL.Tom was born December 22, 1918, in Glenwood, IL, the son of Edward A. and Hazel J. (Anderson) Garren. He went through the Cook County public school system and was a graduate of Iowa State University at Ames. He was retired from the A.E. Staley Mfg. Co.He was an active volunteer and a former member of the Board of Directors of the Decatur Civic Center and a member of the board of the Downtown Senior Center. He served on the Decatur Aging Advisory Commission, the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and was a charter member, past president and board member of Golden K Kiwanis Club of Decatur. Tom served in the military in WWII with the Ninth Air Force in Europe.He married Mary K. Edwards in 1949. She is deceased. He married Betty Otta in 1992.Surviving are his wife, son Mark E. Garren of Monticello, IL; daughter Kathleen J. (George) McDonald of Tebbetts,MO; daughter-in-law Terri Garren of Decatur, IL; stepdaughters Susan J. (Donald) Woodard of Decatur, IL, Pamela J. (Richard) Fossier of Indio, CA, Linda K. (Douglas) Sloan of Taylorville, IL; stepson William H. Otta of Blue Mound, IL; 3 grandchildren Miranda (Chad) Barnes of Decatur, IL, Adam (Alexis) Garren of Seattle, WA, Kevin (Gina) Garren of St. Louis, MO; 7 stepgrandchildren Michael J. (Jennifer) Woodard and sons of Moweaqua, IL, Daniel J. (Tammy) Woodard & family, Chestnut, IL, Craig Otta & family of Moline, IL, Morgen L (Larry) MacDonald & son of Lorton, VA, Neely K (Joe) Sadowski & son of Hoffman Estates, IL, Nicholas (Becky) Sloan of Shelbyville, IL, Shelby Otta of Decatur, IL; sister-in-laws Sophia Garren of Levittown, PA and Patsy Garren of Genoa, IL.He was preceded in death by his daughter Mary E. Garren (1-31-2001) and son Robert C. (7-23-06), brothers Robert and Donald, and step grandson Thomas W. Woodard (8-1-2009). "
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