Garrison Charles Avery

West Point, 2004

Be Thou At Peace

Posted by Tim Hsia on February 23, 2006:

Writing a eulogy is the last thing anyone would want to do. But when it's a good friend it's even harder. A good friend's death is an event one would rather not acknowledge and so I've put off writing a eulogy for a noble classmate, ranger buddy, and more importantly a great friend with a huge heart. I still remember the first time I met Garry plebe year, I met him through a FHP friend who said "you've got to meet this guy; he's really something." Boy was he right. I didn't get to truly know Garry until our time at Benning and the dinners together at the Olive Garden before or after a field exercise. Garry's personality was just too large to even try to pin down: one could always expect an insightful comment from him that would make everyone stop and think, he was a great listener and confidante to many, he was a man of action who could achieve anything he set his mind to but he was at all times humble, and more importantly he had a huge heart who always found time to help others. I never ever heard Garry speak bad about another individual. Likewise amongst his peers, Garry is (without a bow to sentimentality) known as one of the few individuals that I can say who possesses little to no character faults. He was always the first one willing to lend a helping hand. Always forgiving and accepting of other?s faults. There are a lot of events in one's life which gradually dissipate as time goes by but the time I was fortunate enough to spend with Garry will always be treasured. The conversations in which he spoke about his tremendous love for his brother, sister, and wife. The time spent joking with him and James about how much we would eat and where we would feast. The immeasurable amount of time we spent elaborating on a mischievous albeit harmless deed which we both knew deep down that we would never follow through on. Time spent huddled together in silence around a burn barrel. The inside "ninja" jokes about his garrotes and sewn in knee and elbow pads. The thousands of times he helped myself and others at his own expense. The dinner stop I had with Kayla and him as I was driving out West. His last piece of parting fatherly-friendly advice which he gave, "make sure you have 5 gallons of water and some food as you drive across I-90." The discussions of one day owning a vast tract of land in the Midwest and sitting on his porch and watching the sunset. The numerous sunsets and sunrises we watched together on Ranger TV. It is odd, sad, and unfair but it really does seem like the good die young. Garry----you'll be missed greatly. God Bless. It's not what I like. It's just a fond farewell to a friend, Tim

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