Robert C. “Bob” Garrison, Jr., retired anesthesiologist, passed away peacefully at age 90 in Atlanta, GA on September 11, 2023.
Since retiring from his remarkable 57-year career, Dr. Garrison had been living with his daughter Lynn and her family in Sandy Springs, GA. Dr. Garrison was preceded in death by his wife of 60 years, Jane Zuber Garrison, in 2014, and by his sister, Kathryn Rhodes Garrison Marin in 1993.
After graduating from Davidson College in 1954, three months later he married his high-school sweetheart, Jane Elizabeth Zuber, who supported the young couple by working in the microbiology lab of St. Vincent’s Hospital in Birmingham while Robert pursued his MD at the University of Alabama School of Medicine, from which he graduated in 1958. During medical school, Robert was accepted into the Navy’s physician-drafting program. Following graduation from medical school and an internship at City Memorial Hospital (now Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center) in Winston-Salem, NC, he served as a U.S. Navy Medical Officer, initially as a ship’s doctor, but eventually as an anesthesiologist at Bethesda Naval Hospital. It was during his years in Bethesda that Lt. Commander Garrison was selected to serve as physician to President John F. Kennedy while traveling by ship, as well as anesthesiologist for both Vice-President Hubert Humphrey and President Lyndon B. Johnson. Following his service to the Navy, the Garrison family endured the climate of Rochester, Minnesota while Dr. Garrison practiced at the Mayo Clinic, where he published research on his development of the four-pole electrocardiographic backplate, a device that greatly simplified monitoring a patient’s vital signs during surgery. The technology Dr. Garrison developed at Mayo continues to be utilized in surgical procedures worldwide. In 1970, the family relocated to Anderson, South Carolina, where Dr. Garrison joined the staff of Anderson Memorial Hospital (now AnMed Health Medical Center). Dr. Garrison formed Anderson Anesthesia Associates, eventually bringing in 7 partner anesthesiologists. During his many years at Anderson Memorial/AnMed, Dr. Garrison served as Chief of Anesthesia as well as Chief of Staff. In 2002, Dr. Garrison became Chief of Anesthesia for the Bearwood Ambulatory Surgery clinic, and continued practicing anesthesiology in Anderson until retiring at age 82 in February 2015.
He is survived by daughter Lesley Glenn Garrison of Aiken, SC; son John Osburn Garrison and his wife, Paula, of Seneca, SC; daughter Lynn Garrison Brown and husband Mark of Atlanta, GA; son Paul Carlton Garrison of Birmingham, AL; and son Robert Glenn Garrison and wife, Carolyn, of Atlanta, GA.
Dr. Garrison (Granbob) had ten grandchildren, Caroline “Callie” Rhodes Garrison Inge (Peter), Elizabeth Shields Brown; Ross Carlton Garrison; Robert Carlton Garrison, II; Alexander Pierce Brown; Sarah Glenn Garrison (Camron Pollock); Grant Collier Brown; Jane Ellis Brown; Liam Robert Garrison; and Sean Thomas Garrison; and three great-grandchildren, Milo Julian Pollock, Lila Marie Pollock, and James Montgomery Inge.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Robert’s name to the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund. Dr. Garrison valued and supported the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund in honor of his beloved wife, Jane. There is a link to Jane Z. Garrison in their Memory & Honors tab at https://curealz.org/outreach/in-memory/jane-z-garrison/
A memorial celebration in Dr. Garrison’s honor will be held in Anderson SC at a later date.