Born in Bastrop, Texas,[1] his father was H. M. Garwood, a county judge who served in both houses of the state legislature.
from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. in 1917,[1][3] and served stateside from the end of World War I in 1918 to 1923, as a first lieutenant in the Texas National Guard.
[1] The following year, he moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina to serve as resident American counsel for the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey until 1933.
[1] At this point, World War II was underway, during which Garwood served in Naval Intelligence, achieving the rank of Lieutenant Commander.
[2] Garwood retired from the court in 1958, and became an attorney of counsel to the law firm of Graves, Dougherty, Hearon and Moody in Austin, Texas.