John Harding Garst

John Harding Garst, age 86, of Walkersville, died Saturday, November 24, 2007 at Frederick Memorial Hospital.

Born April 4, 1921, near Mt. Pleasant, he was the oldest son of the late J. Gilmer and Mae Garst. He was the beloved husband of Myra (Peggy) Garst, his wife of 61 years.

He was a dairy farmer in the Glade Valley area where he and his wife were partners at Meadowlark Farm on Stauffer Road, Walkersville.

He was a member of the Maryland and Virginia Milk Cooperative for 43 years, a member of the Frederick County Farm Bureau for over 53 years and a lifelong member of the Walkersville Fire Company.

He was a long time member of the Evangelical Reformed United Church of Christ, Frederick, where he served as a deacon.

He was very devoted to his family and loved spending time with his family members. He enjoyed woodworking, building model farm wagons that he worked on as a young boy. In later years, he delighted in baking cakes and sharing them with family and friends.

Surviving in addition to his wife are children, Myralee Wiles of Myersville, Charles and his wife Patricia of Frederick and Stuart and his wife Ellen of Walkersville; grandchildren; Ryan Wiles and wife Lori of Burkittsville, Laura Troxell and husband Vernon of Myersville, Sarah Crawford and husband Michael of Adamstown, Amy Pontius and husband Jeff of Hong Kong, China; Jennifer Hill and husband Tim of New York and Emily Garst and fiance' Luke Grimshaw of Connecticut. Also, Helen Garst of Solomons, Maryland and Grace Garst of Walkersville.
Also surviving are brothers Richard Garst and wife Florence, Denton Garst and wife Peggy, Donald Garst; sisters Louise Cline and Virginia Coblentz and husband Paul; and many nieces and nephews, cousins and devoted friends survive.

John was preceded in death by a brother-in-law Milo Cline and a sister-in-law, Patsie Garst.

Visitation: The family will receive friends on Tuesday, November 27 from 2 - 4 pm and 7 - 9 pm at the Stauffer Funeral Home in Walkersville.

Services: A Funeral Service will be held 11:00 am on Wednesday, November 28 at the funeral home with his pastor Rev. Barbara Kerchner-Daniel officiating. Interment to follow in Resthaven Memorial Garden.
Pallbearers will be his nephews, James Garst, Bradley Garst, Dale Garst, Richard Garst, Robert Cline and Scott Coblentz.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Frederick County 4-H Camp Center, 3702 Basford Road, Frederick, MD 27104.