Mary Mercedes Orr Garr

Mary Mercedes Orr Garr, 88, of Fruit Heights, Utah, passed away peacefully on August 13, 2025 in Bountiful, Utah.

Mary was born on August 10, 1937 in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the daughter of Leslie and Blanche Orr. Her brother, Wayne, was born seven years earlier, on the same day. Leslie was a career entomologist with the U.S. Forest Service; transfers took the family to live in Minnesota, Maryland, Louisiana and Utah.

Mary graduated from Ogden High School in 1955. After raising her children, she enrolled in Weber State College. After earning her B.S. in general studies in 1981, Mary enrolled in graduate school at the University of Utah, pursuing a Master's in anthropology for two years until she stopped to care for her father.

Mary married her high school sweetheart, Kenneth Ward Garr, on December 26, 1955 in New Orleans, Louisiana, while he was on Christmas leave from the Navy. They were married for 62 years before Kenneth's passing in 2018.

Mary had a lifetime of designing, planting and caring for gardens at her homes. She successfully completed the Utah State University Master Gardener Program and developed lifelong gardening friendships. She had a greenhouse built on the south side of the house and kept it full of beautiful plants, year-round. Mary loved to travel; returning many times to the Oregon coast and nurseries in the Northwest while collecting dwarf conifers. 

Surviving Mary are her son, John (Sue) Garr and their two children, daughter Carolyn (Pete) Kowalchik and their three children, and daughter Donna Clarke and her two children.Parents Leslie and Blanche Orr, brother Wayne Orr, and husband Kenneth Garr preceded Mary in death.

The family is grateful for the outstanding care provided by Creekside Assisted Living and Memory Care Unit, Ovation Hospice, and the companionship of aides from Beyond Senior Care.

The family will have a private celebration of Mary's life and will continue to support the Alzheimer's Association and Human Society in her memory.