In deepest sympathy for the Fairview Everygreen Nursery family, we announce the passing of D. Garth Hetz. Mr. Hetz was the grandson of the founder of the company and served as its president and CEO from 1975-2002. Being a supplier to many landscapers and nurseries in our state, Hetz had many friends in Indiana and the region.
We share just a part of a his lovely obituary in this post. To read the full obituary and share condolences and memories with the family, CLICK HERE
D. Garth Hetz, age 81, passed away in his sleep on December 21, 2019. He was born in his parents’ home on Water Street, in Fairview, on October 2, 1938, the first born and only son of Clifford Burton Hetz and Estella Mae Lamb Hetz.
Garth was the grandson of Frank C. Hetz, the founder of Fairview Evergreen Nurseries, Inc., the family’s business established in 1911. Garth developed a strong work ethic while growing up working in the fields with the crews planting and harvesting the evergreens, flowering shrubs, and shade trees that would go on to beautify the landscapes of the nursery’s wholesale customers and their clients throughout the eastern and midwestern United States and Canada. He spent most of his long career as foreman of ‘Crew 2’, and as the company’s President/CEO and Chairman of the Board, until his retirement in 2003.
Garth was a 1956 graduate of Fairview High School, and the University of Chicago in 1960, where he was a philosophy major and a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. He served in the U.S. Army Reserves until 1967, earning a Sharpshooter commendation. He married Margaret “Peggy” McCall in 1962, soon became parents of Heidi, Hans and Hagan, and shared 57 years of their wonderful marriage. The family lived in the home they built on Water Street, situated on a hill overlooking the nursery pond and acres of Fairview Evergreen nursery stock.
To read the full obituary and share condolences and memories with the family, CLICK HERE
