Written by Bruce W. Kennedy from various sources.

Mike Garrison worked for 27 years at Intervet in Millsboro, Delaware, as facility manager and then seven years at Liberty Research in Waverly, New York, as general manager. It can be said that he spent his career devoted to laboratory animal research. Unfortunately, like for many of us, one of the diseases we study – cancer – is what took him away. Thanks to science and his own perseverance though, he wasn’t ready to give up when it was discovered, determined to have more time with family and make several trips across the United States for another five years.

Mike was my colleague through NCAB (at the time Delaware was included in District 3). I met him through the laboratory animal technician certification program when regional examiners (REBs) visited facilities to administer paper-and-pencil examinations. He invited me out. I was REB for AALAS District 3 in the ‘80s, so why not? It was a trip I probably would not have taken otherwise. ADVENTURE!! I drove at least twice to Delaware to proctor and test his staff at Intervet and enjoy his and his wife’s hospitality. Many recall that he was very devoted to his staff, encouraging them to properly prepare.

Ann Dinkel of Delaware Valley Branch, where Mike was also a member, remembers him from when she taught at Del Tech. She noted that he was really involved, serving on the IACUC as both member and chair. The Intervet facility was an annual field trip for her students. She was grateful that he even hired a few as interns.

Michael Joseph Garrison, 70, of Dagsboro, Delaware, finished his earthly journey Thursday, April 8, 2021, and went home to be with his Lord. He was born in Cheverly, Maryland, and attended school in nearby Riverdale and Washington, DC. He enlisted in the U.S. Army, serving in Germany before volunteering for service in Vietnam. Injured, he returned home and was honorably discharged from Walter Reed Hospital.

Mike married Juanita Kathryn in 1970; together they had a ‘brood’ of five children and 10 grandchildren. He received his AAS from Prince George's (Maryland) Community College and BS from the University of California, Davis, (my alma mater as well) in Agricultural Education. He was a long-time member of both the NCAB and the national AALAS, earning his LATG in 1989.

Services were arranged at St. Ann's Catholic Church in Bethany Beach, DL and the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Dagsboro, DL. Ann Dinkel, Eileen Morgan, and I attended and represented the lab animal community.