He had several showings of his paintings at an Annapolis gallery. He would sketch passers-by as his wife Patricia Garner did mall-walking. Sometimes people would take notice and ask him to teach them how to draw, which he was happy to do.
“With a line here, a splash of ink there, a shadow skillfully applied, Bill would have a deserving senator, president or other rogue or rascal walking around without his head, exposed for all to see,” said columnist Wes Pruden, who was The Washington Times editor in chief for much of Mr. Garner’s tenure.
“Bill was one of the best,” Mr. Pruden said.
Born Aug. 7, 1935, in Temple, Texas, William Simpson Garner attended the Texas School of Fine Arts and spent a year at the University of Texas at Austin. He enlisted in the Army in 1956, winning recognition as a champion sharpshooter.
After leaving the military in 1962, he was working as an illustrator for the Washington (Evening) Star when editorial page editor Smith Hempstone approached him about drawing editorial cartoons twice a week.
“The editor came and asked him if he’d like to do it,” Mrs. Garner said. “He said, ‘Would you like to try it?’ and [Bill] tried it, and he loved it.”
