Obituary of Richard Gardner

Obituary Richard O. Gardner was born on December 29, 1922, in Germantown, North Carolina, the son of Fred E. and Julia (Selby) Gardner. When he was an infant his family moved to Merriman, Nebraska where he grew up. He received his early education at the Rockford Community School near Merriman. At the end of 8th grade he was determined to earn wages as a ranch hand. Richard worked for a time at the Churn Ranch, among others, until he enlisted in the Marine Corps in October of 1943. During WWII he served in the Field Artillery of the Marine 1st Division. He fought in the South Pacific campaigns of Peleliu and Okinawa. After the Japanese surrender he served in the peacekeeping effort in North China until his discharge in April 1946. Richard married Naomi E. Mooney on January 4, 1947 in Martin, South Dakota, where the couple started a family and ranched. In 1961 the family moved to Fort Laramie, Wyoming and operated their ranch located on the Laramie River. Richard was active in the Fort Laramie Community Club and was a founder and president of the Fort Laramie Riding Club and Drill Team. He served four years on the Fort Laramie School Board and was active in the Goshen County Republican party as a precinct committeeman. Richard was also a lifetime member of the North American Quarter Horse Association. In 1974, Richard and Naomi sold their ranch in Wyoming and moved to the Peace River region of Northern British Columbia. He owned and operated a ranch on the Lower Cache, where he ranched until his retirement in 1989. In retirement he continued to raise, break and train saddle horses and pack horses. Richard was a proud father of his 8 children - although he was not always one to express his feelings openly, he could often be heard at the sale barn bragging about his children and grandchildren's accomplishments. Richard often said he was the luckiest man alive and was thankful for the abundance of good things he received on this earth. He is survived by his wife Naomi of Fort St. John, BC; four sons, Kenneth (Marilyn) Gardner of Kelowna, BC; Edward (Michelle) Gardner of Baldonnel, BC, Casey (Teena) Gardner of Rose Prairie, BC, and Bryan (Liane) Gardner of Baldonnel, BC; four daughters, Terry Kemper of Navarre, Florida, Roberta (Robert) Milligan, Jr. of Baldonnel, BC, Billie (Roy) Allen of Torrington, Wyoming, and Jill (Mark) Zetts of Falls Church, Virginia; two sisters, Ruth Hatten of Talent, Oregon, and Viola Cady of Gordon, Nebraska; 22 grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his parents, four brothers and three sisters. Funeral services for the late Richard O. Gardner, 86, where held April 21, 2009 at the Charlie Lake Community Church with burial at Woodlawn cemetery. Richard passed away April 14, 2009 at 6:30am at the North Peace Care Centre in Fort St. John, BC. Memorial contributions in Mr. Gardner's memory may be directed to the Fort St. John Hospital Foundation, 9636 - 100th Avenue, Fort St. John, BC V1J 1Y3. Arrangements were under the direction of Hamre's Funeral Chapel. Services