The industry lost an invaluable resource, leader, advocate and spirit Aug. 20 with the sudden and premature passing of Greg Garrett. He was a friend to Pool and Spa News and me personally. Like the industry, we will miss him on many levels.
There were a lot of things that set Greg apart, but the most puzzling from an anthropological standpoint was his seemingly eidetic memory. He could recite, nearly verbatim, a paragraph or clause from a standard or training manual, with the page or clause number. He clearly read a lot, plus he had some kind of intercranial biochemical gift on his side. This left him with an overwhelming knowledge base. It was one of his superpowers.
Every person I’ve spoken with in the past few weeks has mentioned this, and wondered how the industry will fill that void.
Not only did his special power make him a formidable opponent in debates, but it armed him to teach others, offer assistance when a colleague was stumped, and remember in vivid detail some pretty amusing tales. A large part of his business was forensic in nature — serving as a consultant or expert witness to find the source of a failure. He seemed to have a detective’s nose for finding the smallest clue as to what went wrong.
By all accounts, Greg shared that gift and the fruits of his hard work with just about anybody who was interested in learning. That included me, and I will be forever grateful.
I was lucky enough to speak with Greg a few days before he passed away, while he was in transit to the National Plasterers Council Board meeting. In addition to catching up on industry things, he gave me the latest on his dog, Max, a monstrous Bouvier des Flandres now in his doggy toddler phase. I thought I’d share a photo he sent of Max as a puppy.
You can read about Greg’s life and career on page 14. While we will miss his spirit and contributions dearly, his legacy gives cause to celebrate.
