Garth Coombs Sr

Garth Coombs, 96, of Athens, Ohio passed away on June 7, 2025 at the Laurels of Athens following complications from a stroke. He was born in Paramus, NJ and was the youngest of five sons of Robert Duncan Coombs, Jr. and Harriet Lord Couch. Growing up, he summered in Duxbury, Massachusetts, where he competed in sailing for the Duxbury Yacht Club. 

He was preceded in death by his beloved wife Margaret Smith Coombs, and his stepson Robert D. Coombs IV. He attended MIT, earning degrees in Chemical Engineering and Business, and swam for the Tech swim team. He was a member of The Number Six Club (the Tau Chapter of St. Anthony Hall, the fraternity of Delta Psi). He then entered the Army in 1951 as a First Lieutenant in the U.S. Army Chemical Corps. Near the end of his training, he was chosen to be an aide de camp, first to a Colonel and then to Major General William Creasey, the head of the Chemical Corps.

Following his two years of service, he completed a master’s degree at the Newark College of Engineering (now the New Jersey Institute of Technology). He joined the Johns Manville Corporation’s Research & Development division where he spent his entire career, rising first through the engineering ranks in New Jersey and then becoming a research manager following the company’s move to Colorado. His fields of expertise were in filtration and industrial minerals, especially commercial uses of diatomaceous earth. He received several patents for the company. He was an ‘A-Award’ winner and a member of the Quarter Century Club. 

His hobbies included crafts (he never met a craft he didn’t want to try), garage sales, wildlife photography, and genealogy. Following his retirement, he was an active member of the Mountain Genealogists Society of Evergreen (Colorado) and a member of "The Curmudgeons," a group of retired professionals who were active in making improvements to the Evergreen community. In 2017, he moved to Athens, Ohio to be near his son, Garth Jr, and daughter-in-law, Amy. 

He is survived by two stepdaughters, Susan Coombs de la Herran of Madrid, Spain and Judith C. Buinicki, of Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and his son, Garth (Gary) Coombs, Jr. of Athens, Ohio. He is also survived by grandchildren, Lisa de la Herran, Victoria de la Herran, Andrea de la Herran, and Barbara de la Herran, all of Spain; Meridith Brozik of Carlisle, PA; Martin T. Buinicki Jr. of Valparaiso, IN; Kate Polera of Denver, CO; Robert D. Coombs V of Brooklyn, NY; Garth Coombs III of Boston, MA; and Kenneth R. Coombs of Portland, OR. Great grandchildren are Will & Jack Buinicki of Valparaiso, Jack Brozik of Carlisle, Sophia de la Herran of Madrid, Clara Coombs of Brooklyn, and step great grandchildren Brennan & Hannah Vallely of Boston. 

He was a loving husband, father, grandfather and great grandfather and will be greatly missed.