Carrie Leona Garner

Carrie Leona (Cornwell) Garner (1929 – 2024) Carrie Leona (Cornwell) Garner, age 95, passed away peacefully on August 1, 2024 surrounded by her loving family. Carrie was born on February 22, 1929, to Odie and Myrtle Lucinda (Fair) Cornwell in Manassas, Virginia. She attended a one-room schoolhouse near her home through grade school, then in the late 1970’s, she was proud to complete the Prince William County GED program. Carrie was a loving mother, a hard-working homemaker, and she sold Avon products on the side for many years. When her youngest child became school-aged, Carrie went to work outside the home at Osbourn Park High School selling ice cream. Carrie was a long-time member of Hatcher’s Memorial Baptist Church. She loved her church community. In early 1946, Carrie met Dennis Wilson Garner when he drove his mother to church one Sunday. She expressed many times that she knew he was the one for her. Carrie and Dennis were married on Sunday, October 20, 1946 in the home of Rev. J. Murry Taylor, a retired minister from Woodbine Baptist Church. Rev. Taylor also married Carrie’s parents, Odie and Myrtle, in October, twenty-one years prior. Carrie was a fiercely dedicated mom to her seven children who she loved unconditionally. Family came first and was above all else to Carrie, a value she instilled in her children and beyond. Carrie was passionate about her ten grandchildren and so very proud of each of them. She provided an abundance of loving care, comforting hugs and kisses and tons of fun. Carrie adored her eighteen great-grandchildren, especially when so many could gather during the holidays. She loved nothing more than being surrounded by the loud chaos, warmth and laughter of her family. Carrie was known for her love of playing cards. She played a spirited game of rummy and could play for hours and hours. She had a sense of adventure, liked visiting new places and trying new things. She loved reading, embroidering, collecting magnets and Beanie Babies. She loved riding on the golf cart at the river, particularly when she got to drive. Everyone loved her cooking and baking, especially her famous Thanksgiving dinner and delicious banana bread. She could eat her weight in ice cream and enjoy every minute of it. Carrie was known by many names: Carrie, Leona, Lizer, Mom, Mom-Mom, Grandma, Granny, Aunt Liza and Little Bit. No matter how you knew her, she was loved and adored by all. Carrie was preceded in death by Dennis Wilson Garner (husband), Dennis Dwayne Garner (son), Vernon Roy Garner (son), Carrie Elizabeth Frock (granddaughter), Odie Cornwell (father), Myrtle Cornwell (mother), Alvin Cornwell (brother), Charlotte Anderson (sister), Mabel Black (sister), Kenneth Cornwell (brother). Those left behind to cherish her memory are her brother, Walter Elwood (Betty) Cornwell; her children, Larry Eugene (Brenda) Garner, Gloria Jean Taylor, Sherry Ann Garner, Donna Lynn (George) Truslow, Brenda Carol (Timothy) Grembowski; her daughter-in-law, Barbara Lee Garner; her grandchildren, Larry Eugene (Jennifer) Garner, Jr., Melissa Renee (Robert Klimkiewicz, Jr.) Bohan, Tina Michelle Provence, Julie Ann (Gregory) Goodrich, James Orel (Felicia) Shepard, Jr., Jason Carl Shepard, Amanda Carol (Michael) Crabill, Carolyn Ann (William) Benson and Jessica Rose Grembowski; her great-grandchildren, Blake Austin Blackwood, Corbyn Aston Shepard, Madeline Faye Bohan, Ryan Evelynn Garner, Karleigh Jade Crabill, Xander Donato Provence, Cooper Wallace Garner, Carson Davis Shepard, Chase William Benson, Benjamin Mason Klimkiewicz, Eliza Marie Provence, Jaxon Lane Shepard, Olivia Josephine Shepard, Josephine Rose Goodrich, Angela Grace Shepard, Ryleigh Elizabeth Benson, Ava Caroline Goodrich and Emersyn Grace Shepard; and many nieces and nephews. There will be a viewing and visitation at Pierce Funeral Home on Wednesday, August 7, 2024 from 6:00 to 8:00 pm. Funeral services will be held at Pierce Funeral home on Thursday, August 8, 2024 at 10:30 am, with burial at Stonewall Memory Gardens directly after the service. Friends and family are invited to a reception immediately following the internment at the Virginia Oaks Clubhouse at 7950 Virginia Oaks Drive, in Gainesville, VA. Expressions of sympathy, including flowers, memorial donations or cards to the family are equally welcome. For memorial donations, please consider making a donation in Carrie’s name to Riverside Hospice Fund (https://riversideonline.com/give) or to St. Jude Hospital (https://www.stjude.org/).

Carrie Leona Garner

February 22, 1929 - August 1, 2024