Dr. Everette Shaw Gardner, Jr. PhD

Commander Everette “Ev” Shaw Gardner, Jr., Ph.D., passed away peacefully on Sunday, the 10th of September, 2023. He was held by his wife of 57 years, Mary Ann and surrounded by his daughters and grandchildren.

Ev was born on the 3rd of October, 1944, in Osceola, Arkansas and spent his early years in companionship with his beloved grandfather James Douglas “Dee” Fletcher and grandmother Lottie Poole Fletcher, Dee’s faithful companion Harry Bragg, and his uncle William F “Wish” Fletcher, who later ensured that Ev had access to a college education. Ev moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where he graduated from Frasier High School and Memphis State University with Honors. It was during his years at Memphis State where Ev met Mary Ann Sihelnik, who he married on the 28th of May, 1966, on the same day he graduated from Memphis State and joined the U.S. Navy as a junior officer.

Commander Gardner served twenty years in the Supply Corps branch of the U.S. Navy and retired with the rank of Commander, U.S. Navy. He was a Vietnam veteran and served on the USS James C. Owens (DD-776) and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69). He also held senior Navy positions in inventory management and operations research. His decorations include the Meritorious Service Medal (three awards), the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Navy Achievement Medal with Combat “V”, and numerous campaign and unit awards. During his years in the Navy, his daughters Cynthia Anne and Stacey Diane were born and Ev received his Master and then Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Upon retirement from the Navy, Dr. Gardner went on to serve as a Fellow of the Honors College and Professor of Decision and Information Sciences at the University of Houston. His publications included more than fifty research articles in journals such as Management Science, Interfaces, Decision Sciences, Omega, Naval Research Logistics Quarterly, Journal of the Operational Research Society, Journal of Forecasting, and the International Journal of Forecasting. Dr. Gardner has authored or co-authored four books, including Quantitative Approaches to Management (8th edition) from McGraw-Hill Book Company, New York. In 2006, Dr. Gardner’s article, “Exponential smoothing: The state of the art,” was ranked as the third most influential article in forecasting published during the previous 25 years. In 2007, Dr. Gardner was elected a Fellow of the International Institute of Forecasters and has served on the editorial boards of four scientific journals: Management Science, Interfaces, the Journal of Forecasting, and the International Journal of Forecasting. He is past president and board member of the International Institute of Forecasters. With Dr. Gardner’s retirement from the University of Houston, a scholarship was established in his name for incoming freshmen.

Dr. Gardner was a member of the Vietnam Veterans of America, the Sons of Confederate Veterans, the Order of the Southern Cross and the Sons of the American Revolution. He is listed in Who’s Who in the World, Who’s Who in America, Who’s Who in Science and Engineering, Who’s Who in the Media and Communications, and Who’s Who in American Education.

His interests included Houston Astros baseball, competitive pistol shooting, U.S. and British military history, tomato gardening, and training dogs. His Australian Shepherd, Luke, is a therapy dog who visits patients in Houston-area hospitals and nursing homes. Luke’s uncle Milo was also a therapy dog who made more than 100 hospital visits during his career.

He is survived by his wife Mary Ann (Sihelnik) Gardner, his daughters Cynthia Anne (Gardner) Falschlehner, Stacey Diane (Gardner) Mitchell, their spouses Jonathan Edward Falschlehner and Jayson Matthew Mitchell, and his grandchildren Megan Grace Falschlehner, Joseph Douglas Falschlehner, Walker Shaw Mitchell, Jonathan Joseph Mitchell and Jack Matthew Mitchell.

A visitation will be held at the Settegast-Kopf Company at Sugar Creek from 6:00 to 8:00 PM on the 22nd of September, followed by a service and reception from 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM on the 23rd of September. Commander Gardner will be laid to rest at the Houston National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that a donation be considered for Dr. Gardner’s University of Houston scholarship at https://fundraise.givesmart.com/vf/DRGARDNER .

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.settegastkopf.com for the Gardner family.