Royal Lovell Garff was a speaker, author, lecturer, motivator, businessman, college graduate, son, brother, father, and husband. His passion for speaking and serving others stretched globally. He traveled over two million miles throughout his lifetime, in order to speak at conventions, dinner clubs, and service and industrial groups in as many as 500 cities in the United States and Canada. He spoke for organizations such as the Kiwanis Club, the Drycleaning Association, the American Cancer Society, and the Knife and Fork Club.

Garff was born 22 June 1904 in Draper, Utah, to Royal Brigham and Rachel Day Garff. He was one of six children. Garff's paternal grandparents were from Denmark, while his maternal grandparents had immigrated from England. Both sets immigrated to the United States largely due to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Garff grew up in a strong LDS family, and he served a two-year mission to New Zealand from 1922 to 1924. As an active member of the LDS Church, he served many important positions of leadership, including a: member of the General Board of Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association (YMMIA), Sunday School Teacher, and as a member of a Bishopric. He spoke in the LDS Church often, and gave many thoughts of inspiration, and empowered others through his leadership.

Garff married Marba Stewart in the Salt Lake Temple on 27 November 1931. Stewart (1907-1947) was born in Nevada to cattle ranchers W. T. and Artimesia Seegmiller Stewart. She had filled a two year mission for the LDS Church in the eastern United States. Royal and Marba had four children: Donna Rae, Joanne, Linda, and Dennis. Since April of 1945, Stewart was under medical care in new treatments for cancer. She passed away on 11 August 1947 in the Adelphi Hospital in Brooklyn, New York.

In 1948, a year later, Garff met Maxine Rice at a fireside gathering in the home of a friend. They married 2 June 1948 in Salt Lake City, Utah. Rice grew up in Parker, Idaho, as one of five children to Chloe and Clem Rice. Rice had been married previously to Don Hall, who enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1941 and was posted in Victorville, California. He was then sent to Europe and was killed five months later. Rice then served an LDS mission in the East Central States: Kentucky, Virginia, Tennessee, and North Carolina. Rice and Garff are grandparents to seventeen grandchildren.

The eldest child of Royal and Marba Garff, Donna Rae, married J. Willard Marriott Jr. in 1955, they also have four children. Joanne married Richard Hart in 1960 and they have five children. Dennis passed away in 1985, leaving his wife, Suzanne, with three children. Linda married Michael Rutter in 1968 and they have five children.

Garff earned his A.B. degree in Speech from the University of Utah in 1930. He received his master's and doctorate from the renowned School of Speech and Drama at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. There he studied under Ralph Dennis and Clarion Hardy. In 1932, Garff earned his Masters of Arts and in 1939, he earned his Doctorate of Philosophy in Speech. During his time at Northwestern University, he taught speech classes and was the director of retail training for the Montgomery Ward Company.

Garff used his skills at speaking in order to serve and empower others. He was a board member of the American Cancer Society for twenty-five years and served with the National Foundation for two years as its president. He spoke at many conventions, published articles, and gave his time in order to assist awareness with cancer. Garff was given an award of recognition from the March of Dimes where he also served as president. He has been Chairman of the Red Cross and assisted with the Utah Opera Company.

One of the largest contributions Garff made to society was that of teaching. Garff said: "One of the most important things to remember is to keep alive. And if we are not careful, we can die just a little bit every day. Get bored and careless. Apathetic. It's that way with everything in life. So one of the most important things about teaching or anything else is for people to keep alive and alert. And enthusiastic! It consists of taking everything that is inside you: your spirit, your emotion, your intelligence and all the rest of your ability and seeing that it definitely gets outside of you to reach as large a number of people as possible." He taught for thirty-two years as a member of the University of Utah faculty. In 1972, Garff earned the standing of Professor Emeritus.

On 17 October 1994, Royal Lovell Garff passed away in his home in Salt Lake City, Utah.