Stanton Berry Garner, age 86, died November 20, 2011 at his home in San Marcos following a lengthy illness. He was born September 1, 1925 in Corning, New York to the late Helen and Edward Garner, and attended Corning Free Academy through high school. In 1943 he graduated from the Manlius School in DeWitt, New York and in the fall of that year entered the Army Air Corps Aviation Cadet program. Stanton later matriculated to the US Naval Academy after having received a commission to attend both West Point and Annapolis. He graduated in the class of 1948 and began a career in the United States Navy. He served in the Korean Conflict aboard the destroyers USS Hanson (DDR-832) and USS Melvin (DD-680). After the war, Stanton attended submarine school and served on the submarines USS Hardhead (SS-365) and USS Lionfish (SS-298). He retired from the Naval Reserves as a full Commander in 1973. Few things gave him more pleasure than watching Navy beat Army in their annual football clash.
Stanton earned his doctorate in English from Brown University in 1963 with a specialty in nineteenth-century American literature and taught there as a member of the faculty. He spent the 1968-69 school year teaching in Brazil on the first of two Fulbright Fellowships there and, upon his return, accepted a job as department head at the University of Texas, Arlington in 1970. During his long career as Professor of English at UT Arlington he headed the Harold Frederic Edition, editing and restoring to print a number of Frederic novels. Stanton returned to teach again in Brazil in 1975-76 and taught at the Naval Academy as a visiting professor 1979-80. After retiring from UT-Arlington, he taught in Portugal on another Fulbright Fellowship in 1988 and finished his career as a visiting professor at Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University). A prolific scholar, he published numerous articles and books on Harold Fredrick, Herman Melville, and other nineteenth-century American authors. His books include The Captain’s Best Mate (1969), Harold Frederick (1969), and The Two Intertwined Narratives in Herman Melville’s Billy Budd: A Study of an Author’s Literary Method (2010). His 1993 book The Civil War World of Herman Melville was a major study of Melville’s later poetry and of the writer’s complex attitudes toward the American Civil War. Among his professional affiliations, he was an active member of the Melville Society and served a term as its president.
Stanton survived the passing of his beloved wife, Lydia M. Garner, who died on May 6, 2010. He is survived by his former wife, Katherine H. Young of State College, Pennsylvania; by his three sons, Stanton B. Garner, Jr. of Knoxville, Tennessee, George Garner of Katy, Texas, and Edward Charles Garner of Austin; by his grandchildren, Jared Garner of Tomball, Texas, Travis Garner of Clear Lake, Texas, Helen Garner of Knoxville, Tennessee, and Benjamin and James Garner of Austin; and by his great-granddaughter, Ryley Nicole Garner of Tomball, Texas. Interment will be held at Arlington National Cemetery on February 9th of 2012. Plans for a memorial ceremony are pending.
His family extends particular thanks to his devoted caregiver, Karen Green of Prairie Lea, Texas.
