Iola Garrison

The Lord placed Iola Garrison on this earth on July 16, 1925. She was the matriarch of seven generations of family. She was born in a small town called Avocapoca, Louisiana on a Sugar Cane Plantation, to Wallace Walker and Mary Dales-Walker. She was the 5th born child for her mother and the 3rd born child for her father. She gave her life to Christ at the age of 12 years old and was baptized in the Bayou Lafourche in Napoleonville, Louisiana. She educated as a child in Labadieville, Louisiana and became a lifelong learner throughout her adult life. In 1971 she received her nursing aide certification through the Homemakers organization and received her Nursing Assistant certification in 1977 from the University of Colorado Medical Center. She met the love of her life, Alfred Garrison, Sr., in Labadieville, Louisiana. They were joined in holy matrimony on June 5, 1941 at a wedding that lasted two days in Napoleonville, Louisiana in Assumption Parish. They were like best friends. They traveled cross country from military base to military base with all of their children and their dog. They had so much fun on the road. Mother would fry chicken all night the night before we left and dad would pack up the car. Early the next morning we would hit the road. Dad would drive and mother would navigate. We would stop and sleep on the road and have a great time! When we arrived at our destinations, the first thing mom would do is deep clean our new dwelling place and sign the children up for school. There were 11 children born to this union. They were Julia Mae Garrison, Caroline Garrison, Vivian Garrison, Alfred Garrison Jr., Mary Iola Garrison, Wallace Donald Garrison, Alex Joseph Garrison, Daisy Rebecca Garrison, James Darryl Garrison, Kevin Anthony Garrison, and Melonie Denise Garrison. Iola was very adventurous. When her husband was deployed overseas, against all of her community and family wishes, she chose to follow him to Okinawa, Japan in 1951. During the trip, they crossed the international dateline and encountered dangerous sea turbulence that caused the boat to rock and wilt. While her oldest two children were having fun sliding back and forth on the luggage, she was sitting on the bed with her bible in hand praying fervently. Her beliefs strengthened her. Our greatest memory of Mom is how good she cooked. She didn’t have a recipe for anything and made everything so good. When she told you how to cook something she would say “Just add a little of this or just a pinch of that,” but our food would never turn out like hers. Iola raised 19 grandchildren, 38 great-grandchildren, and 6 great-great grandchildren. She loved those grandchildren. Her grandchildren remember her as loving and caring to all of them. Grandma never said goodbye - she always said to say “so long” because goodbye was so final. She enjoyed telling them stories about her childhood of growing up in the Deep South in the early 1900’s. She was always happy to see her family and called her grandkids her angel babies. They remember how she grew peaches, and grapes and apples in her backyard for them. She was always so sweet and loving and made them feel special. Her grandchildren were amazed at how she served the Lord. She got up at 3:30am every morning to praise God and pray for the entire family. She had a great sense of humor and she loved her Madea movies. Iola was nicknamed Granny by her grandchildren, Grandma G-G by her great-grandchildren, Aun-tee by her nieces and nephews, and Auntie-Grandma by some great nieces and nephews. Her first job was weighing coffee at a coffee factory in Louisiana. She then became a housewife and mother while the children were growing up. After most of her children were grown, she became a Caregiver with Upjohn Homemakers in Denver, Colorado. She later took the opportunity to work as a Nurse’s Aide at University of Colorado Hospital and Camelia Care Nursing Center. Iola was a member of Belmont and Mt. Carmel Baptist Church’s in Napoleonville, Louisiana. Due to dad being in the military and traveling frequently she attended several different churches in other states she lived in on a regular basis until he was stationed to another location. After her husband’s retirement she became a member of Peaceful Rest Baptist Church here in Denver, Colorado from 1979 - 2004. After the death of her Pastor at Peaceful Rest, Reverend DeMaster Survine, she gave her membership to Heritage Christian Center in 2004. She became ill in 2010 and was unable to attend church, but watched faithfully on television whenever it was aired. A day prior to her passing she declared that she would get well and she would return to her church, Heritage Christian Center. She was a member of the NCO Wives Club in Okinawa, Japan where she worked with others to collect clothing and distributed to the employees on the military base. She was also a member of Darcus Daughters in Denver, Colorado for approximately 5 years - an organization that teaches younger women skills and helps in the community. Mom’s best friend was Elvira Hughes. They talked on the phone for hours and hours every day exchanging new stories about their family and solving all of the challenges of the world. She will best be remembered by her friends for being herself every day and being a true friend. She was a beautiful person in spirit all of the time. She was always pleasant - no matter what the situation was. She never had a negative thing to say about their problems. She spent her leisure time listening to her gospels and watching her favorite television shows, “In the Heat of the Night” “Perry Mason” and “Wheel of Fortune.” She also loved watching her Madea movies. Her favorite gospel singers included Mahalia Jackson and Jimmy Swaggert. Iola’s favorite scripture is John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” Her favorite saying is “there is always darkness before the dawn.” Her favorite songs were, Trouble of this World and Precious Lord, by Mahalia Jackson. She passed away on Wednesday, April 4, 2018 at 4:19pm in Aurora, Colorado. She was preceded in death by her wonderful husband, Alfred Garrison Sr., two daughters, Julia Mae and Caroline, two sons, James Darryl and Kevin Anthony, 4 brothers Henderson, Peter, James, and Hosea, 2 sisters, Golden and Daisy, and her parents, Wallace Walker and Mary Dales-Walker. She is survived by her 7 children: Vivian Garrison-Vaughn, Alfred Garrison, Jr., Mary Iola Garrison, Wallace Donald Garrison, Alex Joseph Garrison, Daisy Rebecca Garrison-Davis (Rickey), and Melonie Denise Murdock (Nana Barimah), 19 grandchildren, 35 great grandchildren, and 6 great-great grandchildren, a devoted son-in-law, James Murdock III, 5 nieces and one nephew (Annie Mae, Lily Mae, Joyce, Betty, and James), up to six generations of great nieces and nephews, wonderful in laws; a special friend named Elvira, and multitudes of other relatives and friends.

Funeral Home: Pipkin Braswell - 843 West 100th Place Northglenn, Colorado
Visitation: 4/15/2018 at 12:00 PM - Pipkin Braswell Chapel of Peace - 6601 East Colfax Avenue, Denver, CO
Service: 4/16/2018 at 11:00 AM - Heritage Christian Center - 14401 E. Exposition Ave. Aurora, CO
Cemetery: 4/16/2018 - Ft. Logan National Cemetery - 4400 W. Kenyon Ave., Denver, CO
Family Gathering: 4/16/2018 - Reception Heritage Christian Center - 14401 E. Exposition Ave. Aurora, CO