By Elliott Brack
Editor and Publisher, GwinnettForum
MAY 21, 2019 | Gwinnett County recently lost two stalwarts of their communities.
We refer to former Mayor Carl Garner Jr. of Norcross and Bruce Still, long-time Gwinnett newspaperman of Lawrenceville.
Carl Garner, 84, was a Norcross native who was elected mayor of his hometown in 1970, then won re-election in 1972 to a second term. He had previously served three terms on the City Council. He had attended Georgia Military College and the University of Georgia, and was a loyal football fan, keeping his same seats for years.
Mr. Garner ran Garner’s Store, an old-time grocery in Norcross. He followed his grandfather, father and uncle in the business, first on Buford Highway, and after 1966 at the foot of Peachtree Street on Jones Street. His grandfather had owned the site in 1907, and his uncle, Minor Garner, had owned it since 1940. Carl Garner Jr. continued to sell groceries the old-fashioned way, with his own cutter for fresh meat, until he closed the store in 1978.
Garner
He was a member of the board of the Bank of Norcross, and later helped organize and chaired the loan committee for 16 years at the Gwinnett Bank and Trust.
Meanwhile, he was instrumental in many civic activities including coaching Dixie Youth baseball and football. He also served in the Norcross Boosters football club, and organized the Norcross Old Timer’s Baseball Association, and helped establish the Norcross Baseball Hall of Fame, which bears his name.
It was through Mr. Garner’s efforts that the City of Norcross readied itself for growth. He established the Planning and Zoning board, upgraded the water and sewer system and power grid. He also negotiated with the Southern Railway to preserve the historic Norcross depot.
Mr. Garner was a member and had leadership roles at the Norcross First United Methodist Church and later at Mt. Carmel United Methodist Church, chairing the administrative boards at both churches.
Carl Andrew Garner Jr., 1935-2019: May you rest in peace.
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Still
Bruce Still, 80, was a native of Lawrenceville who spent his entire life in the town. He went to work early in the newspaper field while in college for Marian Webb, who owned the Lawrenceville News-Herald and joined the paper after graduating from the University of Georgia. Later he was working on a newspaper owned by Charles Smithgall in Buford, before joining the Gwinnett Daily News as its first advertising director.
In 1970, Still set up a rival newspaper, The Home Weekly. The paper came out twice weekly in 1992, then changed the name to Gwinnett Post Tribune, coming out three times a week in 1994. He and his son, David, sold the paper to Gray Communications in 1995, which changed the name to Gwinnett Daily Post. During his career, Still had served on the board of managers of the Georgia Press Association.
In his earlier adulthood, he became choir director at Chestnut Grove Baptist Church, and later directed music at the First Baptist Church of Lawrenceville. He led the first performance of The Messiah in the community at that church.
Earlier, in the 1970s, Still created the first welcoming and answering service in Lawrenceville.
His later years saw Still serving on the Board of Trustees of the Gwinnett Medical Center Foundation, and the Gwinnett County Hospital Authority. He received the Hospital System Foundation’s Distinguished Service Award in 2022.
Bruce Randolph Still: 1938-2019: May you rest in peace.
- Have a comment? Send to: elliott@brack.net
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