Sgt. Joseph Michael Garrison, 27, formerly of New Bethlehem, was killed in Operation Enduring Freedom in Helmend, Afghanistan, on Monday, June 6, 2011.Born on Sept. 21, 1983, in Canton, Ohio, he was the son of Joseph David Garrison and Natalie L. Long Schoonover.He is survived by mother, Natalie L. Schoonover of DuBois; his father, Joseph David Garrison of Hitterdal, Minn.; two sisters, Judy Rupp and her husband Seth of New Bethlehem and Kimberly Garrison Knoll and her husband Aries of Tiverton, R.I.; a brother, Jacob “Jake” Garrison of Dubois; his fiancee, Brittney Nicole Stephens of Jacksonville, N.C.; a niece and nephew, Adalyn and Rylan Rupp; and his grandparents, Sharon and Ken Kunkle of New Bethlehem, Michael and Shirley Long of Boca Raton, Fla., and Phyllis and John Slimm of Elijay, Ga.; and many aunts, uncles and cousins.
He was preceded in death by his paternal grandfather, William Garrison.
Visitation will be held from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 6 to 9 p.m. Tuesday and from 4 to 9 p.m. Wednesday at the Redbank
Valley High School in New Bethlehem.
The funeral service will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Oakland Church of God in Distant with full military honors.
Interment will be in the Oakland Cemetery, Mahoning Township, Armstrong County.
Memorial contributions may be made in honor and memory of Sgt. Joseph M. Garrison to the Oakland Church of God at P.O. Box 40, Distant, Pa., 16223.
The Alcorn Funeral Home is handling the arrangements.
