1922
Leon
2022
Leon R. Gardner Jr.
November 9, 1922 — October 11, 2022
Leon Gardner Jr. Obituary
Leon R. Gardner, 99, of Ashford, Connecticut, beloved husband of the late Betty Gardner for nearly 72 years, was reunited with her on Tuesday, October 11, 2022.
He was born November 9, 1922 to Leon R. Gardner and Mary (Green) Gardner. He was the eldest of their three children and grew up in Ashford. His sister, Shirley C. Kienholz and brother, Merritt H. Gardner predeceased him.
He is survived by his children: Michael (Linda), David (Lisa) and Sharon Godere (Paul) and his six grandchildren: Aaron Gardner (Nina Krstic), Christopher Gardner (Zoe McGlamery), Benjamin Gardner (Michelle St. Pierre), Rachel McCue (Casey), Christina Pearman and Stephanie Marx (Forrest); and eleven great-grandchildren: Emelia, Isaac, Emmeline, Sevrin, Owen, Maeve, Gwendolyn, Adeline, Eleanor, Finn and Rosanna.
He was a veteran of World War II. He was drafted for military service on February 23, 1943 while he was attending the University of Connecticut.
Leon and two other Ashford inductees went to Putnam to board a train for Fort Devens in Massachusetts. The weather was so bitterly cold Leon’s father kept his car running all night to be sure they would be able to get to Putnam on time.
The next destination was Atlantic City for army air force basic training. After basic training, Leon was sent to Silver Springs, Maryland and the Capitol Radio Institute to learn aircraft radio technology.
After completing the radio training Leon was sent to Drew Field in Florida awaiting assignment which was to the 8th Army Air Force.
Next Leon went by train to New York City to board a French passenger ship which had been converted into a troop ship. The ship sailed for England as part of a 70 ship convoy. Part way across the Atlantic the ship developed mechanical trouble and was forced to fall behind the convoy with a naval destroyer for protection from u-boats. The ship was eventually able to rejoin the convoy with the Atlantic crossing taking 11 days.
The ship docked in Scotland on Leon’s 21st birthday. Leon was assigned to the 2nd Strategic Air Depot near Huntingdon, England.
Leon’s unit was initially tasked with refurbishing aircraft hangars then maintaining the supply depot for the fleet of B-17 Flying Fortress bombers as well as swapping out damaged radios when the aircraft returned from missions. Leon was stationed in England from November 1943 through August 1945. After the Armistice, the airbase support crews were given a flight tour over Europe in B-17s to see first hand the war aftermath.
A chance invite to a local home in Huntington led to Leon meeting his future wife Betty.
After being discharged from the service in November 1945, Leon returned to his studies at the University of Connecticut. In 1948 he returned to England to get engaged to Betty. After Leon’s graduation from UConn, Betty came to the United States and they were married in August 1949. They started married life, and then their family, in Pennsylvania and moved to Ashford.
Leon worked for the USDA Soil Conservation Service where he finished his career as a planning engineer. His work had included providing technical advice to farmers and work on planning, designing and inspecting the construction of ponds, flood control dams, dikes and other projects including some in Unionville, Bloomfield, Seymour, South Windsor, West Stafford, Stafford Springs, Mansfield Depot, and Niantic. He retired from the Soil Conservation Service in 1978 and later worked as a real estate agent and for twenty-two years as the sexton for the Town of Ashford cemeteries, retiring about ten years ago.
He served as a deacon and as treasurer of the Warrenville Baptist Church and later as an elder of the United Baptist Church. He was a member of the Ashford Volunteer Fire Department and served as its treasurer.
Callling hours will be held, Wednesday, October 19, 2022 from 5 :00 PM to 7:00 PM at Potter Funeral Home, 456 Jackson St, Willimantic, CT 06226.
The funeral service will be at Potter Funeral Home on Thursday, October 20, 2022 beginning at 11:00 AM, with burial with full military honors to follow at Woodward Cemetery, Ashford Center Road, Ashford.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to work that was important to Leon:
Barnabas Aid at barnabasaid.org , or
Eastern Connecticut Forest Landowners/Wolf Den Land Trust at ECFLA.org or by mail: PO Box 404 Brooklyn, CT 06234
To send flowers
to the family or plant a tree
in memory of Leon R. Gardner Jr., please visit our floral store.
Read More
Leon R. Gardner, 99, of Ashford, Connecticut, beloved husband of the late Betty Gardner for nearly 72 years, was reunited with her on Tuesday, October 11, 2022.
He was born November 9, 1922 to Leon R. Gardner and Mary (Green) Gardner. He was the eldest of their three children and grew up in Ashford. His sister, Shirley C. Kienholz and brother, Merritt H. Gardner predeceased him.
He is survived by his children: Michael (Linda), David (Lisa) and Sharon Godere (Paul) and his six grandchildren: Aaron Gardner (Nina Krstic), Christopher Gardner (Zoe McGlamery), Benjamin Gardner (Michelle St. Pierre), Rachel McCue (Casey), Christina Pearman and Stephanie Marx (Forrest); and eleven great-grandchildren: Emelia, Isaac, Emmeline, Sevrin, Owen, Maeve, Gwendolyn, Adeline, Eleanor, Finn and Rosanna.
He was a veteran of World War II. He was drafted for military service on February 23, 1943 while he was attending the University of Connecticut.
Leon and two other Ashford inductees went to Putnam to board a train for Fort Devens in Massachusetts. The weather was so bitterly cold Leon’s father kept his car running all night to be sure they would be able to get to Putnam on time.
The next destination was Atlantic City for army air force basic training. After basic training, Leon was sent to Silver Springs, Maryland and the Capitol Radio Institute to learn aircraft radio technology.
After completing the radio training Leon was sent to Drew Field in Florida awaiting assignment which was to the 8th Army Air Force.
Next Leon went by train to New York City to board a French passenger ship which had been converted into a troop ship. The ship sailed for England as part of a 70 ship convoy. Part way across the Atlantic the ship developed mechanical trouble and was forced to fall behind the convoy with a naval destroyer for protection from u-boats. The ship was eventually able to rejoin the convoy with the Atlantic crossing taking 11 days.
The ship docked in Scotland on Leon’s 21st birthday. Leon was assigned to the 2nd Strategic Air Depot near Huntingdon, England.
Leon’s unit was initially tasked with refurbishing aircraft hangars then maintaining the supply depot for the fleet of B-17 Flying Fortress bombers as well as swapping out damaged radios when the aircraft returned from missions. Leon was stationed in England from November 1943 through August 1945. After the Armistice, the airbase support crews were given a flight tour over Europe in B-17s to see first hand the war aftermath.
A chance invite to a local home in Huntington led to Leon meeting his future wife Betty.
After being discharged from the service in November 1945, Leon returned to his studies at the University of Connecticut. In 1948 he returned to England to get engaged to Betty. After Leon’s graduation from UConn, Betty came to the United States and they were married in August 1949. They started married life, and then their family, in Pennsylvania and moved to Ashford.
Leon worked for the USDA Soil Conservation Service where he finished his career as a planning engineer. His work had included providing technical advice to farmers and work on planning, designing and inspecting the construction of ponds, flood control dams, dikes and other projects including some in Unionville, Bloomfield, Seymour, South Windsor, West Stafford, Stafford Springs, Mansfield Depot, and Niantic. He retired from the Soil Conservation Service in 1978 and later worked as a real estate agent and for twenty-two years as the sexton for the Town of Ashford cemeteries, retiring about ten years ago.
He served as a deacon and as treasurer of the Warrenville Baptist Church and later as an elder of the United Baptist Church. He was a member of the Ashford Volunteer Fire Department and served as its treasurer.
Callling hours will be held, Wednesday, October 19, 2022 from 5 :00 PM to 7:00 PM at Potter Funeral Home, 456 Jackson St, Willimantic, CT 06226.
The funeral service will be at Potter Funeral Home on Thursday, October 20, 2022 beginning at 11:00 AM, with burial with full military honors to follow at Woodward Cemetery, Ashford Center Road, Ashford.
In lieu of flowers, the family requests that contributions be made to work that was important to Leon:
Barnabas Aid at barnabasaid.org , or
Eastern Connecticut Forest Landowners/Wolf Den Land Trust at ECFLA.org or by mail: PO Box 404 Brooklyn, CT 06234
To send flowers
to the family or plant a tree
in memory of Leon R. Gardner Jr., please visit our floral store.
Read More
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Leon R. Gardner Jr., please visit our flower store.
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