Born to Fred McPherson Downey and Etta Pearl (Radford) Downey on 14 June 1936 in Covington, VA, Garland (known as "Snowball" as a child for his white hair) and his family moved from the family farm to Curtis Bay in the early years of WWII after his father was recruited as a machinist by the Coast Guard. In the Curtis Creek neighborhood , Garland met his lifelong best friend, William Hassell, now of Pasadena and married to the wonderful Linda. Garland, his three brothers (Fred, Paul, Lonnie), sister (Alberta), and bonus brother (Rufus) kept their mother and schoolteachers busy until all five boys were corralled by the Marine Corps. Garland served from 1954 until 1957, after which he was hired by Glidden, where he met a beautiful woman named Gloria Dorothy Stine, who worked in Glidden's lab and with whom he became smitten after she roundly chastised him for closing the door to the sample drop-off too loudly. They married in 1958, had a son in 1959 they named after Garland but whom they called Wayne and "Rags," and welcomed all kinds of animals into their home on Amberly Road in Glen Burnie—some for rehabilitation and some for forever—for the next 56 years. During the early years, Garland was beloved by neighborhood kids for always being willing to fix a baseball glove, and they would even stop by in the evening to see if "Mr. Garland" could come out to play. In 1986 and 1990, after Wayne followed in his father's footsteps by marrying a beautiful woman named Cathy, Garland became the most special person:  Granddad. His grandchildren, Sarah and Pat, loved spending the night with him and Memaw, and he taught them to fish; took them bike riding and rollerblading at GBHS, where he would drop money on the ground for them —or a lucky student—to find; and always had a fresh eclair from Arundel Donuts, his favorite coffee shop, waiting on weekend mornings. In 2009, Granddad became a great-grandfather to Jonah. They quickly became the center of one another's universes, and Granddad spent the last fourteen years of his life fixing (and refixing) foam airplanes that had been thrown too vigorously, telling stories about the Marines in the "Squad Bay," and making Jonah's favorite breakfast sandwiches.  The family expanded in 2017 when Sarah married a wonderful man named Sumner, with whom another little addition to the family will soon be added. Granddad was always proud of great godson Sean Cunningham, who also served in "The Corps," and enjoyed celebrating holidays with Sean and his mom, Gail Cunningham.  In 2022, Sean followed tradition and met a beautiful woman, Lindsey Alcoser-Matters, with whom he had the adorable Liam, who brought special joy to Granddad's last months. We (the lucky people mentioned above, plus all of Granddad's beloved granddogs) know how lucky we are to have loved and been loved by Granddad. We aren't sure yet what a world without Granddad looks like, but we do know that we are all better for having had him in our lives and will continue to find him in the skills he taught us, the plants he showed us how to nurture, and the stories he shared with us. We love you, Granddad.

A graveside service will be held on Monday, July 24, 2023 at 10am in the Maryland Veteran Cemetery in Crownsville, 1122 Sunrise Beach Road, Crownsville, MD 21032.