While Jennifer Garner has built an accomplished Hollywood career, she has also maintained a close bond with her parents.
On Monday, April 1, 2024, the actress shared on social media that her dad passed away during Easter weekend at the age of 85.
Credit: Photo by Steve Granitz/WireImage/Getty Images
WHO WAS JENNIFER GARDNER’S DAD, WILLIAM JOHN GARNER?
William John “Billy” Garner studied at Texas A&M University, where he earned his Bachelor of Chemical Engineering in 1961 and his Masters of Chemical Engineering in 1976, per KBTX News 3.
He was the father of actress Jennifer Garner and her sisters, Susannah Kay Garner Carpenter and Melissa Garner Wylie.
He was married to their mother, Patricia Ann Garner, for nearly 60 years.
On January 1, 2024, Jennifer honored her parents’ 59th wedding anniversary in an Instagram post.
“Happy 59th anniversary to my incredibly sweet and loving parents. Thank you, Mom and Dad, for giving my sisters and me such a secure, happy start to life,” she wrote.
The sisters were born in Texas and raised in Charleston, West Virginia.
According to the Hindustan Times, William worked as a chemical engineer for Union Carbide.
WHAT WAS WILLIAM JOHN GARNER’S CAUSE OF DEATH?
William died on Saturday, March 30, 2024, at 85 years old, with Jennifer sharing the news in an Instagram post on April 1.
“My dad passed peacefully Saturday afternoon. We were with him, singing Amazing Grace as he left us (did we carry him across or scare him away— valid question.). While there is no tragedy in the death of an 85 year old man who lived a healthy, wonderful life, I know grief is unavoidable, waiting around unexpected corners,” she wrote.
“Today is for gratitude,” she continued.
“We are grateful for Dad’s gentle demeanor and quiet strength. For how he teased with a mischievous smile, and for the way he invented the role of all in, ever patient girl dad. We are grateful for his work ethic, leadership and faith.”
While Jennifer did not share William’s cause of death, she revealed that he was treated at Charleston Area Medical Center and City of Hope.
Credit: Instagram/jennifer.garner
“We extend our gratitude to the medical communities of Charleston Area Medical Center and City of Hope. Your care extended Dad’s life and gave him time to be in his favorite spots— surrounded by daughters and grandchildren, cheering for his beloved Aggies, captaining a boat, and— most of all—next to his wife of 59 years, our Mom,” she continued her post.
“There is so much to say about my dad— my sisters and I will never be done talking about how wonderful he was, so bear with us— but for today I share these memories with my appreciation for the kind and brilliant man, father, and grandfather he was, as well as the loving legacy he left behind.
WHO IS JENNIFER GARNER’S MOM, PATRICIA ANN GARNER?
Patricia, who grew up on a farm near Locust Grove, Oklahoma, spoke to Southern Living about her family’s history.
Her parents, Harvey Newton English and Violet Margaret Sayre English, bought the farm during the Great Depression in 1936, two years before Patricia was born in 1938.
It included a two-room house and 20 acres of land, aside from one acre in the center of the property, which was a Native American cemetery, Patricia shared.
“Thinking about what the farm did not have is easy. In the beginning, there was no electricity, running water, or indoor plumbing. Electricity was added in 1945, but we never had running water or indoor plumbing when I lived there. Thinking of what the farm did have, though, is far more beneficial,” Patricia continued.
“The land that could be cultivated was very rich, and Dad always planted a garden. The earliest crops were leaf lettuces and radishes, and then there were English peas and new potatoes.
“The summer crops included beets, green beans, tomatoes, onions, and cucumbers. There were dozens of native pecan trees, which were a source of income and delicious treats. There was enough space for chickens, cows, and pigs, which provided the majority of our meat.”
After Harvey died in the spring of 1962, Violet sold the farm to Patricia’s older brother, James, and his wife, Helen.
“During the time that Mother and Dad owned the farm, they added about 35 acres by buying adjoining tax-title land. James built a barn and fenced the property, and he eventually sold the farm in 2008 to my brother Robert and his wife Janet, who built a modern house there,” Patricia said.
Jennifer purchased the farm in 2017 “with the understanding that they could continue to live there and look after the land,” Patricia continued.
“And now she has plans to give our place a new life.”