Samuel Gardner, III
July 27, 1925 — July 8, 2015
Samuel Franklin Gardner, III, 89, died Wednesday, July 8, 2015 at Frederick Memorial Hospital. Born July 27, 1925 in Frederick, MD, he was the son of the late Samuel F., Jr. and Ethel V. Bentz Gardner. He was the beloved husband to Frances N. Rhoderick Gardner for 67 years.
Mr. Gardner enlisted in the Navy in 1943 and was a World War II veteran, serving as a Navy Corpsman assigned to the 4th Marine Division. He served in the battles of Saipan, Tinian, and Iwo Jima, where he received a Presidential Unit Citation and Purple Heart. After World War II, he joined the Marine Corps Reserve and served more than 10 years in the military.
He was employed by C&P Telephone Company for 38 years. He was a member of the Telephone Pioneers; life member of the Marine Corps League Shangri-La Detachment and the 4th Marine Division Association; American Legion Post 11; Middletown AMVETS Post #9; one of the original members of the Frederick County Crime Scene Search Team; and he volunteered his time with the American Red Cross, as a driver, receiving the Volunteer of the Year Award. Mr. Gardner was a member of the Woodsboro Evangelical Lutheran Church.
In addition to his wife, he is survived by sons, S. Kevin Gardner and wife, JoAnne, of Libertytown and Gary L. Gardner and wife, Kathy, of Eldersburg; grandchildren, Manda Gardner Mackintosh and husband, Drew, Justin Gardner and wife, Margo and Matthew Gardner; great-grandchildren, Cortland and Annabelle Mackintosh. He was preceded in death by his daughter Marta Gardner Trimble.
The family will receive friends at Stauffer Funeral Home, 1621 Opossumtown Pike, Frederick on Tuesday, July 14, 2015, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 6 to 8 p.m. A memorial service will be held that evening at 7 p.m., with Rev. Kathy Rohrbach officiating. A private interment will take place at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to Woodsboro Evangelical Lutheran Church, 101 S. Main Street, Woodsboro, MD 21798 or to Hospice of Frederick County, PO Box 1799, Frederick, MD 21702.