James Lloyd Garretson

James Lloyd Garretson, 85, passed away peacefully on Oct. 18, 2026, in Greenport.

Born on Sept. 19, 1941, in St. Louis, Mo. to Virginia Holland Garretson and Summerfield Baldwin Garretson, Jamie grew up with his sisters Julie and Louise (Weba) and his brother John. He lived in St. Louis, Rye, N.Y., and Bronxville, N.Y. He graduated from Principia Upper School before earning his Bachelor of Architecture from Pratt Institute.

He went on to build a distinguished career as an architect, working at Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, John Carl Warnecke, and Perkins & Will, where he worked on many large-scale projects, including office buildings, hospitals, campus master plans, and research and development facilities. In later years, he designed many smaller projects within his own practice.

During his career, he particularly embraced projects that required creative solutions to unusual problems. Among them were relocatable hospitals for the U.S. Navy and an award-winning design for Manhattan’s street newsstands. He also had a passion for preservation projects, particularly smaller buildings that held an important place within their communities.

In 1964, Jamie married the love of his life, Sara Panks Garretson. Together, they shared 62 wonderful years of marriage, filled with love, laughter, family, civic engagement, home renovations, sailing, and travel.

Beyond his professional life, Jamie was a man of warmth, humor, quiet strength, and generosity. He was an avid sailor and loved solving design problems while volunteering his time and talents to community organizations. Throughout his life, Jamie was almost always in the process of restoring or renovating houses and apartments for his family to live in.

Whether designing professionally, preserving an old building, helping his community, or working on one of his own homes, Jamie had a remarkable ability to see both what something was and what it could become. He believed that things worth caring about were worth taking care of, and he leaves behind that spirit in the places, projects, and people that were part of his life.

He is survived by his beloved wife, Sara; his son Jeremy and his wife, Ashley, and her children, Rhian and Liam; his sisters Julie and Weba and their spouses, Dick Miller and Mark Wheaton; his niece Frannie and his nephew Tom; and a wide circle of extended family and dear friends.

A celebration of Jamie’s life will be held on Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. at Smuggler’s Cove, located at 1410 Manhanset Ave., Greenport.

In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that donations be made to Brecknock Hall for the Greenhouse Project, a restoration project that was especially meaningful to Jamie.

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