Obituary of Stephen Lewis Garman

Stephen Lewis Garman was born in Hutchinson, Kansas, to Sherman Ross Garman and Freda Horany Garman and he had one brother, Richard. Steve graduated High School in Shawnee, Oklahoma. Upon graduation, he enlisted in the US Army and was honorably discharged in 1959. Thereafter, he graduated with a BA from Oklahoma City University and matriculated to the University of Oklahoma, earning MA degrees in both Economics and Political Science. Steve dedicated much of his professional life to public service, having served as Assistant City Manager of Oklahoma City; City Manager of Westminster, CO; City Manager of Pensacola, FL; contract City Manager of Gulf Breeze, FL; City Manager of Decatur, IL; and City Manager of Gulf Shores, AL. From 1985 through 1999, Steve was a Managing Director and Vice President of Government Credit Corp and served as a co-financial advisor with the Public Finance firm of Arch W. Roberts on the creation and marketing of the 1985 City of Gulf Breeze Local Government Loan Program. During his career, Steve authored several economic and financial white papers for professional publications. Additionally, he published a series of articles on the Caribbean, dedicated to diving and travels. One of his writing highlights was being selected as the 1984 Grand Winner of the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Writing Contest, which was presented to him in New York City and featured in the 1985 Guinness Book of World Records. A most memorable moment occurred in 1983, when he received a personal letter of appreciation from President Ronald Reagan expressing his gratitude for Steve’s Opinion Letter, published in the Pensacola News Journal, supporting the President’s decision for local governments to decide their own course of action rather than pleading for and relying upon Federal Government assistance. Steve is survived by his brother, Richard (Maryella) Garman; his former wife, Donna Eckert Garman; their three children, Sean (Caroline) Garman, Heidi (Jimmy) Amberson and Christian (Sheree) Garman and five grandchildren, Lauren Hailey Faranda, Maddi Amberson, Emily Amberson, Rylee Garman and Gracie Garman. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be directed to St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital (stjude.org).