Family remembers NC deputy, wife; pair died in crash while returning from beach trip

ASHEBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — The family of a Randolph County Sheriff’s Office deputy and his wife are remembering them just days after they were killed in a car crash on the way home from vacation.

Breahna Yanez says her stepfather, Randolph County Sheriff’s Office Deputy John Garner, was a man who loved big and was loved by many. Garner’s wife, Alisha Garner, also died in the wreck.

“He’s the kind of guy who won’t tell you how he’s feeling. But before he goes to bed, he’ll come find you and tell you, ‘I love you,’” Yanez said.

He served the community for 22 years before retiring and then returned to the sheriff’s office to work part-time as a bailiff.

Yanez knew him as a comedian who would always get you to crack a smile.

That characteristic got the attention of her mother Alisha Garner who met John on a blind date about 10 years ago.

“My mom was going to a festival with friends, and she was the only single person in the group, and he was the only single person in the other group. … She came home that night and said, ‘I found somebody,’” Yanez said.

Yanez says it was love at first sight, and the pair got married in 2018. Alisha just celebrated her 50th birthday on May 25.

“And she told me, ‘Don’t throw me a birthday party, I haven’t had a birthday party since I was a little girl.’ And I pushed back a little bit … On Saturday, she came up to me at the end of the night and said, ‘I’m so glad you did,’” Yanez said.

Yanez says John and Alisha frequently went on trips to the beach.

“That was their getaway. That was their happy place. They would go to Cherry Grove and just be on the water and the lazy river, and my mom was collecting seashells to bring home,” Yanez said.

According to the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office, the couple was on their way home from the beach when they died in a car crash on Wednesday.

Yanez says it happened at the intersection of Rough and Ready Road and Old Stake Road in Columbus County.

While the Randolph County Sheriff’s Office and the surrounding community mourn their passing, Yanez felt it was was important to tell everyone who the Garners were.

“Because that’s the kind of people they are, and that’s the kind of family that we are. There’s not a sense of looking back and thinking, ‘We wish we would’ve shared more love’ or, ‘I wish we would’ve been closer.’ We did every day,” Yanez said.

Funeral arrangements for the couple have not been set yet.