Patricia “Pat” Garrett, 79, of Holmes Beach and Portland, Maine, died March 2 after a yearlong struggle with colon cancer.
She was an accomplished biochemist, earning an undergraduate degree at St. Francis College in Pennsylvania, a master’s degree at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., and a doctorate from the University of Colorado. She conducted cutting-edge research on HIV/AIDS at SeraCare Life Sciences 1988-2012 and at Immunetics Inc. 2014-17.
Mrs. Garrett published numerous articles and served as a role model to many young scientists. One of her colleagues described her as “a wise and sage mentor to all, always going out of her way to help and educate others.” She retired in 2017 to care for her husband and to spend more time on Anna Maria Island but she remained active in her field by opening a consulting firm specializing in quality control, method evaluation and infectious disease testing.
In recent years, she enjoyed exercise and yoga with friends, and dining out. She was thoughtful, compassionate and loved making new friends, many of whom remained in touch from around the world. She will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved her. A highlight for her in 2022 was a fun-filled Garrett-Ball family reunion in Holmes Beach.
No services are planned. Memorial donations may be made to a favorite charity.
Mrs. Garrett is survived by sister Kathy and husband George Ball; stepson David and wife Marjan Sedgh; and many nieces and nephews and their children.
Stephen ‘Steve’ Alton Schmidt
Stephen “Steve” Alton Schmidt, 66, formerly of Holmes Beach, died March 4 in Lakeland of liver cancer.
He was born Dec. 8, 1956, in St. Joseph, Missouri, and moved to Lakeland in 1967.
A graduate of the University of Florida, Schmidt was a newspaper executive who spent 26 years at The Ledger in Lakeland, where he was advertising director for 10 years. At the time, The Ledger was a New York Times-affiliate newspaper, as was the Times Daily in Florence, Alabama, where Schmidt served as publisher from 2006 until the paper was sold in 2009.
While living in Holmes Beach, he was called upon to conceptualize and launch Better Living magazine in Sarasota for The New York Times.
Schmidt began visiting Anna Maria Island in the late 1970s and frequently vacationed at the beach with his family for weeks at a time before buying a home. He spent his honeymoon and every July Fourth on the island.
He and his wife, Cheryl, bought a home on Spring Lake in Holmes Beach in 2004 for weekends at the beach, eventually living there 2009-16.
It was such a special place to him that he requested his ashes be scattered in the waters off Holmes Beach.
Memorial donations may be made to the Pace Center for Girls-Polk, 213 Tyler Ave., Lakeland, FL 33801, or the cancer research organization of your choice.
Mr. Schmidt is survived by wife Cheryl, of Lakeland; daughter Katie of Wilmington, North Carolina, son Eric and wife Johanna Miller of New York City; sister Sandra and husband Dave Harris of Bayside, Wisconsin; sisters-in-law Tina Schmidt of Lakeland and Susan Diskin of St. Augustine; brothers-in-law Richard John and wife Sela Nordby of Mesa, Arizona and Jim Kunburger of Marietta, Georgia; and numerous nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews and lifelong friends.