Edwin Truman “Sonny” Garnett, 92, of Vernon, TX, wouldn’t say he died peacefully on September 8, 2026, he would laugh while singing the old cowboy song that he gained his “Rusty ole halo, skinny white cloud, second-hand wings full of patches. Rusty ole halo, skinny white cloud, robe so wooly that it scratches.” Anyone who knew him well can imagine it!

Visitation will be from 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, September 10 at the Sullivan Funeral Home Chapel in Vernon.

Funeral services will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, September 11, at First Presbyterian Church in Vernon.

Burial will be in the west side of the Rose Garden in Wilbarger County Memorial Park on Highway 70 near Lockett under the direction of Sullivan Funeral Home. Please feel free to wear your favorite work clothes or jeans in honor of a man who worked all of his life.

Ed was born May 5, 1934 in Lynn County, Texas to Ed and Alma Webb Garnett. He attended school in O’Donnell, then graduated from Brownfield High School. Family and friends in New Mexico called him “Sonny,” and Texas friends knew him as “Ed”. He answered to both names, but his old friend Ken Cook gruffly and exclusively called him “Garnett!”

Ed earned a Bachelors Degree in Animal Science from Texas Tech University, where he was a member of Block and Bridle, and the Texas Tech Rodeo Team. Before leaving Tech, he married his sweetheart Flo Leuenberger. They moved to Portales, NM, where Sonny began his career in the New Mexico Agricultural Extension Service.

While in Portales, they had two daughters, Lesli and Libbi. Some time later, Ed and his family returned to the Lubbock area, where they farmed before Ed went back to school in Las Cruces. Ed earned a Masters Degree in Agriculture Economics from New Mexico State University, and his water research is still referenced to this day.

When Ed left graduate school, he became an agricultural economist for the Extension office in Amarillo. Always an overachiever, he soon pivoted into the District 4-H Specialist position for both Districts 1 and 2, headquartered in Amarillo and Lubbock. This meant covering 42 counties in the Texas Panhandle and South Plains. He proudly laughed that one summer in the early 70’s, he spent only three nights at home in his own bed. Many knew Ed for spending countless hours at District Leadership Labs, 4-H Electric Camp, Texas 4-H Roundup, at sales buying show lambs, and many other 4-H activities. He loved 4-H club lamb projects: buying, blocking, breeding, and judging them. He believed that if Jesus called us His lambs, these gentle animals must be as close to heaven as we can get here on earth.

Ed left Amarillo in 1974 for a position as the District 3 Extension Director in Lockett, Texas, near Vernon. There, he supervised County Extension Agents for agriculture, and at one point also for home economics. During those years, he became a member of the Board of Regents at Vernon College. He strongly supported education and claimed that anybody could learn if somebody had the patience to teach them. He retired from the Extension Service, but he didn’t quit working, of course!

He and Flo had already begun building Garnett Auction, a service for estate sales and antique auctions. Having spent most of his childhood in the livestock sale barns with his dad, Ed had mastered the auctioneer’s chant from an early age, but now licensed, made it his second career. Garnett Auction was in continuous operation until Flo’s unfortunate cancer diagnosis brought new priorities and a different direction. In rapid succession, Ed sold the auction business, secured a real estate license and, at the age of 75, became Mayor of Vernon. Local Chinese businessmen invited Mayor Ed and First Lady Flo to travel to China as their guests. In Beijing, the businessmen asked Ed to speak at an event. He agreed, donning his trademark cowboy hat to do so. This cemented Ed’s image as a true Texan no matter where his journey would take him.

In real estate, Ed found his greatest passion yet, but especially in farms and ranches. He loved matching buyers and sellers, and he helped clients feel confident in acquiring property. Many, many of his former clients have testified that if not for Ed, they wouldn’t be in the home or business they’re in now.

Lending a hand to others was simply a way of life. Ed Garnett was known by all as a go-getter. Work was the truest friend he ever had, and he never minded getting up early or working long hours. A natural-born storyteller, his laconic sense of humor lifted the spirits of everyone around him. With very few, very well-chosen words, he could bring a storm of laughter to any occasion. He loved inspiring others, encouraging others, and motivating others. He was extremely generous—giving his time and resources freely to help others pursue their own dreams and projects. He offered free auction services to folks for a myriad of reasons, such as building a community gathering place, securing medical treatment for a child in need, or raising money for various causes.

Recently, a woman was visiting a different patient in the nursing home, and she sat down at Ed’s table in the dining room to speak with him. She began weeping with gratitude, reminding him that when her house burned, Ed and Flo delivered furniture and a crew to help them. She recalled that in addition to the household items, Ed had remembered her buying a collectible doll in one of this auctions that was like one she had as a child. After the fire, Ed had contacted every doll dealer he knew until he found a dealer with one to replace it. She said she needed the furniture, but cherished the surprise gift of that old doll.

These are the kinds of stories that are told over and over,

These are the legacies that we will remember.

“Git ‘er DONE” was a familiar motto, and we heard it ALL the time.

“Don’t tell me your problem, tell me your plan.”

“Get your chin off your chest and look the world in the eye!”

He lived by these, and expected everyone else to.

Ed attended the Central Christian Church where he was a member, elder, and teacher. He served on the church board for years as a part of almost every committee. He was a worship leader, and he loved singing. He always quipped that the Bible didn’t tell us to become opera singers; it tells us to “make a joyful noise,” and that is precisely what he did! After Flo’s death, he joined the Eagle Flats Brats dulcimer and old-time music group, playing a “pickin’ stick” that was a gift from his Extension friends Elaine Houston and Carolyn Gilbert. Playing music and singing old songs and hymns was fun and relaxing, and he knew the words and tune to every old cowboy song ever written!

Ed is survived by his daughters Lesli and Libbi; six grandchildren; seven great-grandchildren; and his two younger brothers.

He was preceded in death by his sweet wife with her jingle-bell voice Flora Jane “Flo” Leuenberger Garnett; infant grandson Elliot Bray; his parents Ed and Alma Garnett; and his seven sisters.

Memorials for Wilbarger County 4-H, the Texas 4-H Center, the Boys and Girls Club of Vernon, or the Flo Garnett Memorial Scholarship Fund may be sent c/o Sullivan Funeral Home, PO Box 2044, Vernon, TX 76385.

If he were with us today, Ed would tell us to help the next person you know that needs it, and don’t wait for them to ask. Then, don’t wait for them to thank you, because an act of service contains its own reward.

The 4-H motto is “To Make the Best Better,” and Sonny’s New Mexico 4-H’ers would say it like this:

“Good, better, best. Never let it rest, ’til the good is better, and the better is best.”

Thanks for the memories.