Catherine Garrett Anderson

Catherine Gurr Garrett Anderson, of St. Simons Island, GA passed away on Saturday, April 20, 2019 at Southeast Georgia Regional Medical Center with her son Al at her side. She was 98 years of age. Funeral services will be conducted Monday, April 29, 2019 at 2:00 p.m. at Mathews Funeral Home. Rev. Murray Ward will officiate. Interment will follow at Riverside Cemetery.

Born Catherine Lorene Gurr in Dooly County, Georgia on March 4, 1921 to the late Robert Moses and Lucy Thelma Gurr, Catherine always had fond memories of her early years on the family farm with her seven siblings. The family moved to Albany, GA in 1927 where her father and uncle operated a small store. Catherine was six years old, and Albany would become her home until she was 92 years of age.

Catherine attended Albany Public Schools, graduating from Albany High School in 1937, and married George Adrian Garrett in 1941. The couple built successful sand, contracting, and fertilizer businesses with Catherine serving as bookkeeper, vice president, secretary and treasurer of all three companies. The fertilizer business, Garrett Base Material Products Company, grew to be the largest supplier to the Atlantic Coast Railroad Line at the height of their success.

As busy as the couple was with their businesses, their lives were centered on their family, especially their sons F. Alton (Al) and Robert Adrian (Bobby) Garrett. Both family and friends were drawn to the warmth of their 12th Avenue home, which they built in 1952, where summers were spent around the backyard swimming pool.

When Adrian died, Catherine sold the family businesses and went to work with WKAK-FM and WALG-AM Radio in Albany. After 13 years as bookkeeper, she became an account executive and sat on the Board of Directors for 14 years, becoming one of the most successful sales representatives in the station’s history. In 1988 she married long-time family friend, J. T. “Andy” Anderson, and she retired from the radio station in 1989 so that she and Andy could enjoy traveling to Hawaii, Alaska, Virginia, Washington, Louisiana and many other United States cities.

After Andy died in 1994, Catherine stayed active in Albany for another 20 years. Family and friends continued to celebrate joyous holidays, summers, and other occasions at her home. A Gurr Family Reunion, which began early in Catherine’s life, also continued for many years as Catherine’s siblings and their friends and family came together to celebrate the joy of a loving family.

Catherine left her 12th Avenue home of 61 years in 2013 to move to Marsh’s Edge on St. Simons Island to be closer to her son, Al. Her adventures continued as she followed him and his wife to Athens, GA in 2016 and then back to St. Simons Island in 2018 where she enjoyed living at Thrive at Frederica. Her greatest joy was always her two sons and their families, all of whom have wonderful memories of very special times with Catherine.

Catherine is preceded in death by her husbands George Adrian Garrett and J. T. “Andy” Anderson, her son Bobby’s infant twin sister Barbara, and Bobby’s wife, Charlene. She is survived by her son, Al (Susan) of St. Simons Island, her son Bobby of Tallahassee, FL, five grandchildren, ten great-grandchildren, 12 nephews and three nieces. She lived life to the fullest and wanted the same for her family. A line from a poem she had saved reads “Miss me a while, But not too long, And not with your head hung low. Remember the love that once was shared. Miss me, but let me go.”

The family wishes to thank the staff at Thrive at Frederica, and Cathy, Roberta, Marie, and Phyllis McIver for their loving care.

The family will receive friends on Monday from 1:00 p.m. until 2:00 p.m. at Mathews Funeral Home.

Donations in memory of Catherine may be made to Snow Cemetery Fund, P. O. Box 510, Unadilla, GA 31091.