John Barnum Garland, 89, of Statesville, N.C., passed away Saturday, May 27, 2023, at his home.

John was born November 11, 1933, in Matthews, N.C., the son of the late Thomas Lee Garland and Annie Sustare Garland.

John attended East Mecklenburg High School, where he met his wife Nancy. John and Nancy regularly gathered with high school classmates over the years and as recently as a few weeks ago.

John received a civil engineering degree from N.C. State University and was a lifelong, enthusiastic supporter of all things Wolfpack! While getting his undergraduate degree, John spent several years in the Air National Guard and amassed several hundred hours in the F-86, the first swept wing jet in the U.S. Military. That jet, John would say, wasn’t fast enough to break the sound barrier in regular flight …you had to fly as high as you could, then come straight down.

As a young engineer, John walked and surveyed a number of the highways we take for granted now in North Carolina but didn’t exist before the 1960s and ’70s. He was a partner in a consulting engineering firm based in Raleigh, N.C., for many years and eventually had his own business, consulting to towns and businesses nearby to Statesville.

A fan of multiple sports, John held season tickets to UNCC basketball and Hickory Crawdads baseball for years while also watching every Atlanta Braves game available on cable TV. John loved his farm in Alleghany County, where he nurtured a variety of apple trees and hosted many friends and family.

John was preceded in death by his sister, LaMarr Forbis.

He is survived by his wife of 66 years, Nancy Thomas Garland; sons, John (Sherry) Garland Jr., and Greg (Heather) Garland; his grandchildren, Ben, Cody, Caleb, Charlotte, and Turner; and great grandchildren, Charlie, Rhett, and Bristol.

A service to celebrate the life and legacy of John Garland will be conducted at 2 p.m. Saturday, June 3, at First Baptist Church. The family will visit with friends one hour prior to the service from 1 to 2 p.m. Burial will follow the service at Oakwood Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, please consider donations to Hospice & Palliative Care of Iredell County, Power Cross Ministries, or St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Online condolences may be made to the family at www.troutmanfuneralhome.com.

Troutman Funeral Home is serving the family.