Wray B. Garn was born on January 4, 1916 in Yakima, Washington. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania, and briefly worked as an electrical engineer for the Westinghouse Corporation. He then worked for the University of New Mexico.
In 1943, Garn began to work at the Los Alamos Labs. He remained there and worked on various projects until his retirement. He was active in the Los Alamos Geological Society and the White Rock Senior Center, and was a founding member of the BPOE Los Alamos Elk Lodge. He served in many technical societies and was the past director of the Los Alamos National Bank.