Jean W. Garrison

Jean Wrisley Garrison was born on May 8, 1930 in Milton, Massachusetts, the second child of Luke Carlton Wrisley and Marion Esther Power. Her beloved elder brother, John Ernest Wrisley, continues his life journey in South Carolina.

Jean and her brother were abandoned by their mother when she was only two years old. For a few years, they were raised by their paternal grandparents, both of whom died when they were still quite young. The siblings became wards of the state and spent most of the remaining years of their childhood in foster homes. It was a mostly sad and lonely existence for Jean as she and her brother were placed in separate homes. They were reunited for a brief time before reaching adulthood.

As a teenager, Jean found a home with a minister and his wife. She played piano for the church and taught Sunday School for children of the congregation. Her favorite book of the Bible was Ecclesiastes. She graduated high school in Fitchburg, Massachusetts.

Jean worked for a few years in Boston as a telephone switchboard operator. Later in life, she worked for a short period for a local bank in Dallas Texas, processing payments and using early data processing technology that was reliant on punch cards. At the end of her life, she kept an iPhone and would text with family including her granddaughter and great granddaughter who live in Ellensburg, and the many other children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren all over the country. She was also a prolific letter writer.

In 1952, she met her husband Benjamin Charles Garrison, a Navy World War II veteran and survivor of the bombing of Pearl Harbor. He made a career in the Navy, which meant that Jean moved around the country to the locations of various bases and spent long periods alone while he was at sea.

But she was never really alone because they brought five children into the world: Robert, Kim, Benjamin, Mark, and Keri. Her husband and eldest daughter Kim preceded her in death. She was always the “switchboard operator” for remaining family and kept everyone who had become scattered far and wide connected to events of the family.

It wasn’t until relatively late in life that Jean and John found out the story of their missing mother, though she was long deceased when that occurred. They also found that they had a half-brother, Richard Russell Foster, an Arizona cowboy who lived in a teepee and hand-crafted knives and saddles. They all managed to meet in person, and Jean and John heard tales of their mother from his living memory. Though the youngest of the siblings, Richard sadly preceded both in death.

Jean never learned to drive a car. She preferred to walk everywhere she went and she did so well into her eighties. If she saw trash along the road during her walks, she’d collect it and later dispose of it properly. She was proud of her strict Vegan diet, which she maintained for over forty years. Her general fitness contributed greatly to her longevity.

These habits extended to her mental health as well. Jean always maintained a positive outlook and discouraged others from focusing on the negativity in the world. Her favorite saying was, “Just say oh and let it go.” Another was a simple premise for living: Be good, do good, feel good.

In her final years and as her health declined from the weight of those years, her eldest son brought her to Ellensburg to be near him. Eventually, she took a room at Avista Assisted Living and became beloved by the staff and other residents. While she was still able, she participated in activities, took walks in the surrounding neighborhoods with staff, tended plants, and engaged in many other doings.

Jean Garrison departed this life on a quiet Sunday morning, February 15, 2026, with her eldest son by her side. No funeral or other celebrations are planned. Her ashes will be scattered off of Dungeness Spit this summer, to join the ashes of her husband and daughter that were also scattered there.

She was partial to making donations to disabled veteran organizations and to those focused on cancer treatment for children. Donations in her name to such organizations can be made in lieu of any other remembrance.

Arrangements have been entrusted to Johnston & Williams of Ellensburg. Online condolences may be left at www.johnston-williams.com