Johanna Elisabeth (Toetz) Garwood

Johanna Elisabeth (Toetz) Garwood, 95, died peacefully on Friday, February 18, 2022 at her home at the Oaks at Grove Park Assisted Living in Columbus, GA.

A funeral service will be held 2:00 PM  Saturday, February 26, 2022 in the chapel of McMullen Funeral Home and Crematory, 3874 Gentian Blvd, Columbus, GA 31907.  The family will receive friends following the service at the funeral home. She will be interred alongside her husband Lt. Col. Edgar F. Garwood Jr. (retired) at the Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, Florida.

Born March 7, 1926 in Berlin, Germany, she is predeceased by her husband of 57 years retired U.S. Army and Foreign Service Officer Edgar F. Garwood, Jr.

Johanna grew up in blockaded Berlin and after World War Two, received post graduate intensive English, Spanish and French language instruction.  Her father William was a World War One German Army veteran and her brother a World War Two veteran of the German Elite Africa Corps (who was in fact captured and served as a POW at Fort Benning in the 1940’s). She served as a local civilian translator and interpreter for the American Consulate in Berlin where she met her soon to become husband. Married in 1953 and being naturalized an American citizen the same year, she then began her life as a spouse of a U.S.  Department of State Diplomatic Corps Foreign Service Officer. Through their years together, Johanna and Ed had two children; lived in five countries on three continents including Germany, the United States, Venezuela, Brazil and Peru; spoke four languages and lived a life of extraordinary adventure and cultural experiences.

Johanna was a master bridge player, competitive tennis player, enjoyed golf, embroidery, board games and travel around the world. She was a member of the Church of the Holy Family in Columbus.  She volunteered at churches, her children’s schools, the Red Cross and many international charities.  She was a Girl Scout leader, member of international diplomatic corps women’s groups, Retired Foreign Service Officers Club and a natural hostess. She often visited her family in Berlin and was there in 1961 when the wall went up separating her beloved hometown.

In 1974, after a final assignment at the U.S. Department of State in Washington, D.C., Ed and Johanna retired and moved to Florida. Soon after her husband’s passing in 2010, Johanna moved to Columbus, GA to be closer to her daughter and granddaughter’s families.  She lived the last 2 years at the Oaks at Grove Park Assisted Living and prior to that at Spring Harbor in Columbus, GA where she made many friends and enjoyed many activities. But no matter where she resided, Johanna was never far from the love of her nearby family and those farther away.

Mrs. Garwood is survived by her daughter Christina Vogler (Ron); son Eric Garwood (Alice); grandchildren Anne Brown (Kevin), Jonathan Vogler (Lindsay), Brian Vogler (Brighton), Ryan Garwood, Katie Garwood; and great-grandchildren Arden Grace, Flora Kate and Laney Elizabeth Brown; Blake Everleigh and Beckett Jacob Vogler.

Her family would like to express their fond gratitude for the devoted and compassionate care providers by the staffs of the Oaks at Grove Park and Columbus Hospice. In lieu of flowers contributions may be sent to Columbus Hospice House at 7020 Moon Rd. Columbus, GA 31909 or Oaks Grove Park Activity Fund at 1479 Grove Park Dr, Columbus, GA 31904.