Lawyer, businessman, author led a life of adventure
Whether he was rescuing fellow sailors from their foundering ship in a typhoon, escaping a violent coup d’etat in Liberia — in which his host was executed — or writing spy novels, G. Gray Garland Jr., was an adventurer at heart.
“He had a fascinating life,” said his daughter Gayle Simpson, of Fox Chapel.
Mr. Garland, a Harvard-educated businessman, World War II veteran and lawyer from Oakland, died Friday in his sleep. He was 96.
Born in Richmond, Va., Mr. Garland attended Virginia Military Institute for a year before enlisting in the Navy in 1943 during World War II. A communications officer on a 110-foot submarine chaser in the Pacific, Lt. Garland helped to rescue his shipmates during Typhoon Louise in October 1945.
“He took a rope and swam to a nearby boat when a wave took him onto the deck,” his daughter said. “The crew used the rope to come across to safety.”
Their wooden-hulled vessel was among over 200 ships to run aground at Buckner Bay in Okinawa, Japan, during the storm. Though not sunk, it was damaged beyond repair. “When they were salvaging it, they gave my dad the flag from the ship,” his daughter said.
Her father had another close call before the war was over, Mrs. Simpson said.
“In the Philippines, he was sent ashore to deliver a message to rebels. He went into the hills and shot at a wild boar,” she said. “It was the only time he discharged his weapon in the war.”
Back at home, Mr. Garland took advantage of the GI Bill, earning a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Virginia in 1947 before heading to Massachusetts for an interview at the Harvard Business School.
“His mother wheeled and dealed to get him a new suit to wear for the interview,” said
Mr. Garland’s granddaughter Keally Simpson, of Fox Chapel. “He got a ride to Boston with friends.”
Unfortunately, his new suit got caught in a car door, tearing the arm off. “The people at Harvard felt bad for him in the interview,” his daughter said.
Mr. Garland was accepted into the university’s master of business administration program and graduated in 1949 among a class of overachievers. According to a 2003 book about the so-called “49er class” and their role in transforming American business, one-third of the alumni retired as CEOs and presidents of their respective companies.
“They were all trained in the military, so they were disciplined, and they grew up during the Depression,” said Mr. Garland’s son-in-law Bill Simpson, of Fox Chapel. “They got out with no debt, so they were able to get into the workforce quickly.”
At his 60th reunion, Mr. Garland served as a panel speaker and was asked about his greatest achievement. “He said, ‘I’m very proud of my achievements at Harvard, but my greatest accomplishment is my family,’ ” his daughter said.
When he was a student at the University of Virginia,
Mr. Garland met Margaret “Peggy” McCann at a crowded fraternity party.
“He looked over and thought she was the prettiest woman he ever saw, so he offered her a drink while her date was waiting in line for a drink,” Mrs. Simpson said, laughing. “He had a suit pocket lined with wax paper that had ice in it and another pocket with a glass and a third pocket with a flask, so he made her a drink and they talked for about 20 minutes until her date came back. She said that he was so clever, she knew he would do well.”
The couple married in 1948 and came to her hometown neighborhood of Squirrel Hill after he graduated from Harvard. Mrs. Garland died in 2006.
His wife’s father was a lawyer and convinced Mr. Garland to pursue a law degree. Mr. Garland graduated from Duquesne University School of Law in 1954 and was among the founding partners of McCann, Garland, Ridall and Burke law firm.
“But he was a businessman at heart, so he focused on mergers, acquisitions and tax law,” his daughter said.
In 1962, Mr. Garland founded Unionvale Coal Co. in Ligonier. He later bought the
Youngstown Steel Tank company and served as chairman of other companies, including the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad. “He would take companies and turn them around,” his daughter said.
As the owner of Embassy magazine in New York City, Mr. Garland often visited the United Nations and in 1980 he decided to take up an offer from the president of Liberia for a visit with his wife, his daughter said. During their April 1980 trip, President William Tolbert was overthrown and executed in a violent coup. The Garlands scrambled to quickly find a way out of the ensuing chaos.
“They had to get out of the country under cover of darkness,” Mr. Simpson said. “They escaped in the middle of night, under a blanket in the back of a car.”
Her father’s adventures fueled three spy novels he authored later in life, Mrs. Simpson said. “He incorporated a lot of himself in his books,” she said. “And he was a voracious reader. He read several books a week and he got one of the first Kindles, before we even knew what they were. He was also the first man I knew who had a car phone.”
Mr. Simpson’s favorite memory of his father-in-law perfectly encapsulates the older man’s personality.
“We went on a cruise together around the horn of South America and the Falkland Islands,” he said. “One day, we came back to the ship and the crew were taking all the furniture inside, locking doors and covering everything in tarps. They said we were heading into some serious weather.
“When the storm hit, the waves were higher than our room. We were trying not to roll out of our beds, when my father-in-law comes into the room, standing perfectly upright with a tuxedo on. He announced that he was ready for dinner. The rest of us were green. I guess 18-foot seas were nothing to a Navy man.”
Along with his daughter and granddaughter, Mr. Garland is survived by his daughter Margaret Gerry Cooper, of Ligonier, and his grandson, Will Simpson, of Lawrenceville. He was preceded in death by his brother, Landon Wellford Garland.
His funeral was private. In lieu of flowers, and in honor of his lifelong love of his dogs, donations may be made to Canine Companions in Delaware, Ohio, or to St. Michael’s Church, Ligonier, Pa.