Max Garter

A strongly independent and hard-working man, a loving husband and a good father, Max blessed the lives of those who knew him through the strength of his character.

On June 27th, 1918, Max Garter was born in Conklin, Michigan to Loyde and Myrtle Garter. The family moved to the Upper Peninsula where Loyde found work in a sawmill. Loyde and Myrtle caught the flu that raged through the country. Max was cared for by neighbors who brought food and water for his parents and they eventually recovered. By the ‘20s, the Garter family had returned to Western Michigan and made a home in Grand Rapids. Loyde provided for the family by painting, building houses, and other carpentry tasks, while Myrtle watched over young Max and, eventually, his sister Helen. As a child, Max enjoyed spending time at his grandfather’s potato farm in Coral, and his delight in the outdoors inspired him to join the Boy Scouts. He became a Life Scout and made lots of friends, many with whom he spent summers at Camp Lyon, where they camped and cooked their own food.

Max lived his formative years during the Great Depression, where he learned the virtue of independence. Even as a teenager he was self-sufficient earning his own money and even buying a car while in high school. Max attended Union High School, from which he was graduated in 1937, and where he played saxophone in the school band. He liked science and physics, and he was very mechanically inclined. After the Depression, Max put the mechanical aptitude to work He found work with his father fixing up repossessed homes for a Savings and Loan. He quickly learned the skill of carpentry. Around this time, Max met Mabel Cowell. She caught his eye at a candy store at Alpine and Richmond, and they soon fell in love. June 6, 1940, in Fairview Reformed Church, Max and Mabel married. They moved next door to Max’s parents, in a house that Max had built, and the young couple spent their free time camping and boating in boats Max made himself. Max and Mabel had four children, Louise, Bill, Tom, and David who passed away at a very young age.

Max recalled a cistern that they had that caught the rain, and he was struck by the idea of building a concrete pool in his own backyard. He worried that his father would dissuade him so he waited until his father and mother had moved to Baldwin before going through with the project. He built his first pool in his own backyard. The pool was popular with his children, of course, but it also caught the eyes of several other families. With three children in the school system, Max and Mabel were heavily involved in the PTA and the School Board, and as a result, they frequently entertained at their house. Their backyard pool received a lot of attention, and in the early 1950s, the Grand Rapids Press published an article on the proliferating number of pools in the area, at least half of which had been installed by Max Garter. The Garter Pool business was now in full swing, and Max chose to stop building homes to focus entirely on his pool enterprise. Garter Pools soon became a household name—and for a growing many, a household luxury—and is the oldest pool business in Michigan.

Max’s children recall that their father was very busy in the summer. Their father put in long hours, and they never had any time to take family vacations. In the winters, business was slower and Max could relax. The family made up for their busy summers with long vacations in Indian Rocks, Florida. They always drove but it was worth the long trip. Max loved to sit on the beach, where he contemplated his life and found new ideas for his business.

Later in life, Max continued to travel with his wife Mabel. They journeyed around America in their motor home and flew to England to trace their roots. He loved learning new things, and though he never had a college education of his own, he strongly emphasized its value to his children. He was a longtime member of both Richmond Reformed Church and Central Reformed Church. It later years that Max focused on strengthening his relationships with both his family and with his Lord. He suffered through the loss of his son Bill in 1989 and his wife in 1995, and his religion provided him with the strength to make sense of life’s tribulations. With retirement, he had time to reflect on his life and to open up to those who cared for him, a time his children cherish deeply.

Max passed away on Wednesday, November 19, 2003. His wife, Mabel and sons, William and David preceded him in death. Max is survived by his daughter, Louise (James) Staple and son, Thomas (Denise) Garter; daughter-in-law, Mary De Korte; grandchildren, Jon (Karen) Garter, Jeff (Shelley) Garter, Joe Garter, Becky (Matt) McFarland, Libby Staple, David Staple, Gidgett and Blake Towns, Max Garter, and Betsy Garter. Also surviving are eight great-grandchildren; sister, Helen Sadlowski; and his niece and nephew. Funeral service will be held at 10 A.M. on Saturday, November 22, 2003 at Richmond Reformed Church, 1814 Richmond St N.W. Relatives and friends may meet with his family at the Van’t Hof Chapel, 851 Leonard St. NW on Friday from 2-4 P.M. and 7-9 P.M. Interment will be in Rosedale Memorial Park. Please visit Max’s personal webpage at www.lifestorynet.com where you can read Max’s life story and share a memory. Memorial contributions can be made to Western Theological Seminary. Max was a businessman, a loving husband, a caring and providing father, and a devout Christian. He will be greatly missed.

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