Former Water Fest commodore loved the water, the Marines, music

Tom Garrett wanted to make sure the parade had music.

As 17th Beaufort Water Festival Commodore and an accomplished musician, the festival parade would have proper bands and floats, his wife remembered Tuesday. Garrett also helped shape an enduring Water Festival symbol by commissioning Beaufort artist Nancy Ricker Rhett to create the Water Festival crest that still adorns the commodore’s jacket.

Garrett, a Lady’s Island resident, died Friday of complications related to a heart condition, his son said. He was 81.

As commodore, Garrett had also championed a watermelon-seed spitting contest and human checkers.

“He absolutely loved the time,” said Marguerite Garrett, his wife of 56 years. “It was just a wonderful thing he enjoyed.”

Tom Garrett was a businessman who started a dry-cleaning business in Royal Oaks Shopping Center in 1968. The business added locations in Beaufort and Hilton Head Island, growing to about 10 sites before it was bought.

Garrett continued to work for the company and considered retirement but couldn’t stand the thought, his son, Ron Garrett, said. The older Garrett drove himself and worked until his final days, his son noted.

Father and son bought Lexington Dry Cleaning in 1988 and later opened a location on Lady’s Island. With friend and business partner Skeet Burris, Tom Garrett opened Solid Surf Skateboard Park, which became a rental business and then mini-storage.

Garrett served as president of the Chamber of Commerce the same year he was commodore. He was a Mason for more than 50 years, involved with Rotary International and a member of Baptist Church of Beaufort.

“People remember him for being a caring person who would drop anything he had to do to go help somebody,” Ron Garrett said.

Tom Garrett enlisted in the Marines in 1953 and played first-chair clarinet for the Parris Island Marine Band, his son said. While in the band, he performed for the queen while in the United Kingdom and also played at the World’s Fair in Brussels, his family said.

Garrett remained proud of his service and the Marine Corps. Whenever anyone complained about the jets overhead from Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, he was quick with a rebuttal.

“He said ‘go and look (at the Air Station slogan), the noise you hear is the sound of freedom,’” Marguerite Garrett said.

Tom Garrett motored up and down the East Coast in his 42-foot Hatteras, “The Sport of the Chase,” fishing in tournaments. He pulled in marlin and sailfish and earned invitations to prestigious events.

“The Sport of the Chase has departed,” friend Henry Jackson, who preceded Garrett as Water Festival commodore, wrote in a note Ron Garrett posted to his Facebook page this week. “He will have gentle breezes and a following sea.”

This story was originally published September 13, 2016 at 3:43 PM with the headline "Former Water Fest commodore loved the water, the Marines, music."