Garrett J. Dawkins

Garrett James Dawkins August 12, 1994 - July 11, 2018 Dayton, OH Milwaukee, WI A celebration of Garrett’s life will be held at Cedarburg Community United Methodist Church, on Sunday, August 12, 2018. The brief service, officiated by Rev. Don Greer, will begin promptly at 2:00pm in the church’s sanctuary. The gathering will then flow out into the church’s fellowship hall where everyone is invited to share their special memories and photographs of Garrett, enjoy refreshments and learn more about the many joys of Garrett’s life. Garrett loved. Garrett loved many and Garrett loved much. He loved a really good “fun fact”, bow ties, learning and using new words, foreign films with subtitles, rock climbing, electronica and old fold music, giving the very best hugs, the bicycle he almost completely rebuilt and named Catalyst, learning how things work and helping to found the Cedarburg High School Robotics Team, his beautiful East-side apartment, playing the drums in his high school band and in his church’s praise band, shoes, writing poetry, climbing trees, going to Llama Camp, really good coffee and working as a barista at Colectivo Coffee, Goodwill and finding unexpected treasures in unexpected places, playing with the children at the preschool where he worked and playing with the children of a very remote village in the rainforests of Peru while on a church mission trip. Garrett loved. Two of his loves were truly his passions: Boy Scouts and photography. He joined Cub Scouts in 3rd grade, crossed over to Boy Scouts in 6th grade, joined Cedarburg Troop 835 and went on to hold many of his troop’s offices. In the summer following his sophomore year in high school, he was chosen from among the 700 applicants to work as a counselor at Camp Tesomas. Located near Rhinelander, WI, it has repeatedly been rated the #1 Boy Scout Camp in the country. It was there that Garrett found his “most happy of happy places” on Earth. He continued counseling for two more years at Tesomas; teaching swimming, water sports, robotics, electronics and filmmaking. Within his troop, he was elected as Senior Patrol Leader and attained the rank of Eagle Scout. He was also inducted into the honor society of scouts, the Order of the Arrow and attained the level of Brotherhood. On a family vacation to Alaska, the art of photography first peaked his interest. He received his first nice camera from his parents for his high school graduation. Initially self-taught and then taking classes online, he began his own business, specializing in portraits. He soon knew this was the career path he wanted to pursue and began studying at MATC to attain his degree in photography. During that time, he first apprenticed and then became employed by Doug Edmunds of Edmunds Studio Photography. Working with Mr. Edmunds on a wide variety of photo shoots for several years, was both an honor and a highlight of his photography career. Garrett loved. Garrett loved others. Anytime he was able to help, he did. He took EMT training courses, not to pursue a career as a paramedic but to have more knowledge in order to help those in need. He did his best to be open-minded and not to judge others. Society’s judgment and stigma surrounding mental health were especially painful to Garrett, as he was challenged by bipolar disorder in the latter part of his life. Garrett loved. Garrett loved his family: father James R. Dawkins Jr., mother Paige H- Dawkins and sister Olivia E. Dawkins and his many relatives. He loved his church family at CUMC and would be so grateful for all of the help they have provided for the celebration of his life. He loved his friends; friends that are nearby and those that he came to know and love online, friends from his various jobs, schools, hobbies and those that he just walked up to and said “Hi, I’m Garrett, want to be friends?”. Garrett would love for all of us to carry his love and goodwill on. Memorials may be made in his name to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) or to the James R. Dawkins Family in order to help defray expenses. “Above all, be loving. This ties everything together perfectly.” -Colossians 3:14