Born in Evanston, IL, he was the son of the late William and Margaret (Clarke) Garrett.
John earned his Bachelor’s degree at Antioch College, his Master’s Degree at John Hopkins and his PhD at Union Graduate College. His Honors: Woodrow Wilson Fellow, 1961-1963; Recipient of the French Ambassador’s Medal, Washington, D.C., 1995; Co-Chair, National Task Force on Digital Preservation, 1992-1993.
Upon graduating from Union Graduate School, he worked as Director for Management Information Services, U.S. Peace Corps 1968-1974, then moved onto Senior Research Associate, American Institutes for Research 1974-1976; was President of Vladeck, Hinds, Garrett & Centre Research Associates 1976-1984; then Director, Market Development, Copyright Clearance Center 1984-1991. The most outstanding part of John’s career path was Director of Information Services, for the Corporation for National Research Initiatives (CNRI) working with Dr. Robert Kahn and Dr. Vinton Cerf, the co-inventors of the Internet 1991-1995. From there, he became Co-Founder and Vice President, Business Development of Planet Direct, a CMGI company 1995-1999. Under John R. Garrett & Partners, he consulted with numerous companies on business & development. As co-CEO, John joined Glycosyn, which develops formulas to help children and adults fight infectious and chronic diseases worldwide.
John’s expertise was also sought in the non-profit world where he served as Executive Director of Glycosyn Health Initiatives, their non-profit entity. He was also an active board member for the YMCA Lynn North Shore and North Shore InnoVentures (NSIV). John tirelessly helped others find their passions in life. John never stopped learning. At 76, he took singing & dancing lessons. When John asked, “How are you?” he truly meant it. No quip, one-liner or canned response was going to get that person out of honestly returning his engaging expression, warm hug and sincere dialogue on any myriad of topics local and global. He cared deeply about his friends and took the time to appreciate them all.
As a member of the Eastern Yacht Club, he enjoyed playing tennis and sailing with family in the summers. And as a member of the Gut’n Feathers Club, he played badminton and especially enjoyed their Friday Night Dinners and dressing up for their seasonal parties.
John leaves behind his loving wife of 27 years, Cheri, and family including Aaron Garrett, PhD, and Shelly Kroll of Boston; Leah Garrett, PhD, and husband Adrian McKinty of New York City and their children Arwynn and Sophie McKinty; Josh Garrett, D.M.A. and wife Candace Guirao-Garrett of San Francisco and their children Molly and Sam Garrett; son Hung Dang and wife Minerva, and their son, Ethan Dang of Arizona; and step-father of the late Timothy Pickering and Wendy Pickering McCollum and husband, Chad, of Japan and their children, Aiden and Lilliann McCollum. He leaves his two brothers Clarke (and Peg) Garrett of NM and Tom Garrett (and Barbara Murphy) of VT; and several nieces and nephews, and his extended family Hoang Do and Hong Ngo and their children, Khang and Ethan of MA.
A Summer Celebration of Life is planned. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Doctors Without Borders at www.doctorswithoutborders.org.
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