Orson Alonzo Jacob Garff

Orson Alonzo Garff, an active and civic minded entrepreneur, was born in Draper in 1885. I find little of his early life, so I rely heavily on his published obituary.

His career in the Insurance industry anchored his family in Logan from about 1915. It was here that Orson worked for the Utah Mortgage Insurance Corporation before developing the Garff Insurance Agency. He was a member of the Cache Chamber of Commerce, the Rotory Club and Temple Fork Chapter, Sons of the Utah Pioneers. A member of the LDS Church, he served as Bishop and Sunday School Superintendent.

He married Bodel Lyngby, a native of Denmark (b.1891) in 1911. They were parents of four daughters and one son. Following Bodel’s death in 1926 Orson married Viola Crismon (1894 - 1877) and they had one son and one daughter.

Orson and family lived in a home that had a large garden referred to the Wayside Garden and this was shared with the community as a serene spot to enjoy. Later the City of Logan named a park for this community benefactor, improving an area now known as the Garff Wayside Gardens, a neighborhood park, located at 100 South Main in Logan.

Orson Garff died from injuries sustained in a fall in 1965.