Robert Brian Garner, 70, passed away on Thursday, August 27, 2026, in Columbia, TN.

The family will receive friends on Wednesday, September 2, 2026, from 12:00 PM until 2:00 PM at Williams Funeral Home in Columbia, Tennessee. A service for Robert will follow at 2:00 PM. Robert will be laid to rest in The Arbors at Polk Memorial Gardens in Columbia, Tennessee.

Robert was born on November 2, 1955, to Elden Spencer and Audrey Jensen Garner in North Ogden, UT, the fourth of six children. He was a bit of a mischievous child who loved hunting, fishing, hiking, exploring and basketball. He was an Eagle Scout with palms at 16. He had fond memories of summers spent in Orange County, CA, with his cousins. After graduating high school, he served an LDS church mission to Anaheim, CA, before returning home to finish college.

In October 1977, he met his future wife Dawn, who he married on April 21, 1978, in the Salt Lake LDS temple. He graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in accounting and worked as a CPA for companies including Denon Electronics, Ford and Volvo while living in New Jersey, Michigan and New York. He enjoyed his work and his relationships with his coworkers.

Robert offered his time in different callings for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints that included serving in the scouting organization, with the young men and in administrative capacities that utilized his accounting talent. He also enjoyed being a home teacher and the fellowship he found while serving.

Robert’s greatest joy was being with his family and supporting his kids in their interests. He was extremely unselfish when it came to his family and always demonstrated his love for them. He moved with his family to Rockaway, NJ, in 1987 and spent many happy years there when his children were young. He spent countless hours after work and on the weekends attending his kids’ practices, games and school concerts (not to mention the time spent at the kitchen table building homemade volcanoes and helping his less math-inclined children with their homework!). He enjoyed taking his kids to the local fields and playing baseball (followed, naturally, by ice cream). One of his favorite activities was planning vacations, and his very favorite vacation to plan was going to Disneyland with his children. He shared many special memories with them there. He loved his wife Dawn very much and always kept her happiness and best interests at the forefront of his mind throughout his life.

Robert loved finding seashells on the beach and camping in the Uinta Mountains. He liked working in the yard and planting flowers to bloom in the spring. He enjoyed history, nature, numbers and old Twilight Zone episodes. He loved watching sports, especially college football and March Madness. He was a fan of Utah teams and always cheered for teams from the West when Utah wasn’t playing. He had a profound distaste for SEC football teams (and their nonconference schedules) and would tell you all about the East Coast media bias if you asked!

Robert was preceded in death by his parents and sister Jolene. He is survived by his wife of over 48 years, Dawn, and children Tricia (Michael), Daniel (Mallory), Kristine, Stephanie, Michael and Marc, as well as his beloved grandchildren Tyler, Addison and Ellie. He is also survived by siblings Karla, Jerry (Susan), Janice and Denise (Gregg) as well as several nieces and nephews.

Robert faced his health challenges later in his life with courage, perseverance and faith in the Lord, inspiring his family and others around him. We are grateful to the doctors, nurses and other medical professionals who cared for him as well as the friends, extended family, neighbors and church community who showed their love and support to him and his family.

We love Robert very much and take comfort in knowing we will be reunited with him again. If you would like to honor his memory and celebrate his life, please go to dinner with your family or order a pizza and enjoy an afternoon of college football (obviously rooting for his teams!). He would love that and so would we.