Robert Garff bought his brother’s and sister’s stakes in business in the 1990s, and he and Katharine over time gifted ownership to their five children. Today, John is majority owner of the Garff holdings, while Matthew Garff and Brett Hopkins, CEO of the automotive group, have minority positions. John and Matthew bought out their three sisters seven or eight years ago, John said.
The company is now transitioning to the fourth generation. Four of John’s five children and Matthew’s four children have worked in some capacity in the business.
John called his ownership stake his parents’ heritage.
“We feel a tremendous responsibility to do good things with that gift, not only personally, but philanthropically and with providing opportunities to our employees,” he said.
In 2004, Robert and Katharine founded the Keys to Success program, an incentive-based program to help Utah high school students academically.
Katharine also is a board member of the Robert H. and Katharine B. Garff Foundation and has been involved in many education and community endeavors.
John Garff said his parents believed they contracted the coronavirus from a second cousin, who likely picked it up on an airplane. That cousin, Blair Garff, died a few weeks after Robert, dealing another blow to the family.
Robert’s death came as a shock, as he’d been in great health and “golfed 18 holes and [completed a] 20-mile bike ride the day that he first got his first symptom,” John said.
John recalled how he and his father would discuss all major decisions facing the company. Now his mother will be the one guiding — and challenging — him.
“My dad was my 35-year business partner, my hero, my best friend,” John said. “There’s not a day … that he hasn’t been in my thoughts. And I’m just grateful to continue his legacy, my grandfather’s legacy, and I’m very blessed to be able to live that legacy with my mom.”
