Garner H. Tullis

Who was Garner H. Tullis?

Garner Hugh Tullis, Sr., was a businessman and civic leader from New Orleans, Louisiana, who formed his own brokerage firm, Tullis, Craig & Bright, and became a partner of E.F. Hutton and Company. He was also a nationally known yachtsman who won the races in 1930, 1932, and 1948 between St. Petersburg, Florida, and Havana, Cuba.

Tullis was born in St. Joseph, the seat of Tensas Parish, located along the Mississippi River in northeastern Louisiana, to the attorney and landowner Hugh Tullis and the former Nellie Watson. His cousin, Joseph T. Curry, was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from Tensas Parish from 1930 to 1944.

Tullis arrived in New Orleans at the age of sixteen and worked his way from messenger in a cotton firm to become the principal cotton trader in the whole city. Employed by John F. Clark & Company, he later formed his own brokerage company and then became the Hutton partner in New Orleans. He was a founder of the Louisiana and Southern Life Insurance Company. He chaired the board of the company until his death.