Emmett L. "Butch" Garner

1944 - 2015

PALMYRA, Mo. -- Emmett L. "Butch" Garner, 70, of Palmyra, passed Saturday, Sept. 19, 2015, at Hannibal Regional Hospital.

Emmett was born Sept. 29, 1944, in Hannibal, to Emmett G. and Ethel M. Sims Garner. He was married to Patricia Gayle Calvert on Aug. 22, 1965, at Palmyra. She survives of the home.

Butch was a 1962 graduate of Hannibal High School and later graduated from Hannibal-LaGrange College. He later served for nine years in the United States Army National Guard.

Mr. Garner was retired from the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 562 where he served as a pipefitter and later business representative. Butch was a 50-year member of the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 562; member of the MO AFL-CIO Executive Board; vice president of the Northeast Missouri Building and Construction Trades; president of the Northeast Missouri Trades and Labor Council; president of NEMO Legislative Club; delegate to the Columbia, Jefferson City, and vicinity Building and Construction Trades Council; delegate to the St. Joseph (Mo.) Building and Construction Trades Council; and a member of the NEMO Workforce Investment Board and Youth Council Board.

Butch loved his community and served as a city councilman for 16 years. When his children were younger, he volunteered as a coach for youth baseball, football and women's softball. He was an avid Mizzou and New England Patriots football fan.

Butch was a member of the First Baptist Church in Palmyra where he had formerly served as a Sunday school teacher.

Survivors include sons, Michael (Linda) Garner of Columbia, and Stephen (Jodi) Garner of Palmyra; a daughter, Sally (Clayton) White of Palmyra; a sister, Sharon Nichols of Columbia; grandchildren, Matthew and Michaela Garner of Columbia, Breanna and Jade Garner of Palmyra, Shade, Grant Thomas, and Edie White of Palmyra as well as numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his mother, father, and a brother, Donald Garner.

SERVICES: 10 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2015, at the Lewis Brothers Funeral Chapel at Palmyra. The Rev. Dewayne Larenson will officiate. Burial will be in Greenwood Cemetery at Palmyra. Pallbearers will be Billy Morris, George Gregory, Eric Gregory, Johnny Johnson, Clayton White, Splinter Hoehne, Mark Fohey and Jim Church. Honorary bearers will be Bill Johnson, Jim Cissna and members of the Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 562.

VISITATION: 4 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22, at the Lewis Brothers Funeral Chapel.

ARRANGEMENTS: Lewis Brothers Funeral Chapel, Palmyra.

WEBSITE: www.lewisbrothersfuneralchapel.com.

Condolences may be expressed online at whig.com