Garland Wayne Platz

Garland Wayne Platz, 70 of Lake City, passed away Monday, March 16, 2015, at Flo & Phil Jones Hospice House surrounded by his loving wife, children, grandchildren and family members as well as the many people he touched throughout his life.

He was born Feb. 9, 1945, in Leachville to the late Ivan and Eva Osborne Platz. He was raised by his special mommy, Vera Platz. He joined the Army in 1968 and served in Korea. He became a member of the Army National Guard in 1976 and retired in 1996 as Sergeant First Class.

He was the NEA Solid Waste Manager in Paragould, where he retired in 2009. Throughout his life he was a ginner, welder, and a heavy equipment operator. Garland became an ordained Baptist Minister through Bethabara Baptist Church and was a faithful member of the Refuge General Baptist Church. He cherished spending time with his family and enjoyed hunting and fishing. He was a history buff and loved discussing politics. He loved telling stories reminiscent of his life and was a wonderful Christian witness. He will be missed by his family and friends who loved him dearly.

He is survived by his loving wife and best friend of 26 years, Sarah Platz; his children, Tammy Green (Marty) of Little Rock, Lori O'Neil (Joe) of Jonesboro, James Mabe (Dawn) of Lake City, Beri Platz (Gwen) of Georgia, Felisha Angelo (Gary) of Jonesboro, Larissa Ivory (Torrance) of Jacksonville, Kimberly Campbell (David), Jessica Platz, Christopher Hood and Emily Hood all of Lake City; two brothers, Billy Wayne "Bub" Platz (Joyce) of Monette and James "Jimmy" Platz (Shirley) of Lake City; two sisters, Joann McCrackin of Jonesboro and Barbara Keiter, "His Best Buddy", (Owen) of Monette. He had a "slew" of grandchildren, Justin and Morgan Guthrie; Kristen Carner; Brianna, Carmen and David Campbell; Chace, Sierra and Jagger Thompson; Xavier and Torree Ivory; Darius, Mikaylah and Kinleigh Green; Gage, Ragen, Macauley, Jude, Aysten, Ryder and Kristen Platz; Waylon and William White; and Latasha and Tabby Mabe; six great-grandchildren.

He was also preceded in death by a daughter, Sandra Mabe; a granddaughter, Maliyah Green; three sisters, Marie Keiter, Dorothy Pearson and Ruby Nance; and his brother, Bobby Platz.

A celebration of his life will be at 11 a.m., Saturday, March 21, 2015, at Refuge General Baptist Church with Rev. Ty Koons officiating. Burial will follow at Monette Memorial Cemetery under the direction of Gregg Funeral Home of Monette.

The family will receive friends from 9-11 a.m. on Saturday, March 21, 2015 at Refuge General Baptist Church.

Honored to serve as pallbearers are Darius Green, Justin Guthrie, Chris Hood, Jagger Thompson, Kevin Keiter and Gary Keiter; a very special honorary pallbearer, Joe Shaver and as honorary pallbearers are Marvin Fry, Larry Fry, Nathan O'Neal, Sam Lee, Jon Milligan, James Dubois and Army National Guard Company A of the 875th Engineer Battalion.

Online:www.mcnabbfuneralhomes.com