George Garner, 77, of Niles passed from this life to receive his reward in heaven on Saturday, July 17, 2010 with his family by his side.

George was born May 5, 1933 to the late George and Lula (Jenkins) Garner in Jackson, Miss.

After high school, George began working for Clark Equipment until he retired after 30 years of service. He then began working as a Niles Community Schools bus driver for more than 19 years. Many Niles residents might also remember George from the Standard Service Station on 19th and Yankee Street, which he ran for many years.

Tessie Holmes caught George’s eye and on July 8, 1950 they wed at a ceremony in Jackson, Miss.

When George wasn’t hard at work, he devoted time to his church, Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, and even was a former trustee. He was also a community activist and in his leisurely time enjoyed watching many different sports, especially horse racing.

George is preceded by his parents and two brothers, John and Thomas Garner.

Surviving George is his wife of 60 years, Tessie Garner; his four sons, Lewis (Jodie) Garner, of Midland, Mich., Duane (Irene) Garner, of Santa Cruz, Calif., Timothy (Stephanie) Garner, of Dublin, Calif., Tracy (Dale) Garner, of Sewell, N.J.; and one daughter, Doris (Raymond) Mixon, of Evanston, Ill. He is also survived by one brother, David Garner, of Chicago, Ill.; and five sisters, Evelyn (Bennie) Grandy, Lela Taylor and Lulu (Dan) Williams, all of Pearl, Miss., Rose Proctor, of Oakland, Calif. and Ada (General) Clark, of Berkeley, Calif. He will also be missed by his 12 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

Visitation is scheduled from 5 to 8 p.m. at Brown Funeral Home on Wednesday, July 21. Funeral services for George will be held at Sweet Home Church of God in Christ Holiness in Pearl, Miss. on Saturday, July 24, 2010 at 11 a.m.

Condolences, photos and memories may be left for the family at www.BrownFuneralHomeNiles.com.

Services have been entrusted to Brown Funeral Home, Niles.