James Howard Garrison

James Howard Garrison 

James Howard Garrison, loving husband, father, brother, and friend to all who knew him, and anyone who ever met him, passed away on June 23, 2025. While it was 30 years too soon (he told us all he would live to be 100 - and we believed him!), Jim lived an extraordinary life and loved every minute of it. 

Born in Longmont, CO on February 11, 1955, to Herman and Nell Garrison, Jim spent his happiest days fishing and camping with his wife, Cherry, and many families and friends who cherished the time with them at the lake. He taught his daughter, granddaughter, and nephews how to fish in the spring and summer and shared his endless knowledge and love for the Denver Broncos and Colorado Avalanche in the fall and winter. He loved to travel and experience new people, places and food, and he never went to a place he didn’t enjoy. 

Jim graduated from Boulder High School and started his successful career in sales as a door-to-door vacuum salesman in the late 1970s. He went on to sell everything from furniture to computer memory to electronics and always embodied the power of positive thinking with eternal optimism and the ability to see the best in everyone and every situation. 

Jim is survived by his wife, Cherry Chavez; daughter, Analisa Schelle (Michael), granddaughter Helen; brother, Richard Garrison; sister, Ann Reeves-Mitchell; brothers-in-law Christopher and Anthony Chavez; sisters-in-law Alida and Liz Chavez; and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his mother and father Nell and Herman Garrison; sister Marty Garrison; and his mother and father-in-law, Lou and Alida Chavez. 

We will celebrate Jim’s life with an evening vigil held at Carroll Lewellen Funeral Service on July 10th at 6:30pm. (503 Terry St, Longmont, CO 80501) A funeral mass will be held the following day at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Longmont (323 Collyer St., Longmont, CO 80501), on Friday, July 11th at 10 AM. 

In lieu of flowers, Jim’s family asks for donations to Colorado Parks and Wildlife (https://cpw.state.co.us/donate) in his memory.