Lawrence Greg G. Gardner

Lawrence Gregory Gardner was born on June 27, 1948 at St. John’s Hospital to Maureen and Earl Gardner in Santa Monica, CA. On August 8, 1981, he married Sylvia Bello. They had three children: Daniel, Marisa, and Marc. Surrounded by family, Greg passed away after a courageous battle with cancer at The Dove House of Whittier on June 23, 2013.

As a youngster, Greg grew up on the West Side of Los Angeles. He was an active adolescent. A left-handed pitcher with a formidable curve ball, Greg competed on baseball teams from Little League through high school. When not playing ball, Greg could be found riding through Rolling Hills on his horse “Bucky” or circling the Palos Verdes peninsula on his road bike.

Greg valued the life of the mind. He appreciated literature, history, music, and film. His interests ranged from canonical epics like Beowulf to the modern work of theologian and author C.S. Lewis. When driving his children to school, he tuned in to classical radio. Bach, Beethoven and Tchaikovsky were among his favorites. His children remember with fondness how before bedtime, their father would read fairy tales and scripture. Often he turned to the lyrical wisdom the Book of Psalms provided and the instructive spiritual consolation of the Pauline Epistles.

Greg completed his Associate of Arts (A. A.) in Business Administration from Los Angeles Harbor College. He apprenticed in his father’s West L.A.-based machine shop for a time before transitioning to the aerospace industry where he worked as a project planner in the Solar Ray division of Hughes Aircraft, now Boeing. His machine shop expertise served him well as he operated as a liaison between engineering and the shop, interpreting satellite design plans for part production. In retirement, Greg returned to his machine shop roots. He refined his knowledge of part manufacture through course work at Cerritos and El Camino Colleges. Prior to his hospitalization, Greg enrolled in El Camino College’s machine shop program ultimately earning his A. A. in Manufacturing and Machining Technology.

While working at Robinsons May, Greg met Sylvia Bello, a co-worker who would be his future wife. Over several years their initial romance matured into life-long love. From that love came thirty-one years of marriage and a family. A proud father, Greg devoted himself to his wife and children. Family time involved shooting hoops in the backyard, chatting about life over coffee, and watching movies. Dad’s taste in movies was eclectic to say the least. He could go on about the style of Marcello Mastroianni in a Federico Fellini film, the understated bravado of Clint Eastwood in a Sergio Leone spaghetti Western, or the madcap antics of Peter Sellers in the Pink Panther comedies. Being a racing enthusiast, it was not uncommon to find Dad spending an afternoon watching the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Monaco or some other European city. He loved all things European, and so the most recent family vacation to visit Sylvia’s extended relatives in Southern Italy was a special one.

He is survived by his sisters Laura and Anne, his beloved wife Sylvia, their three children Daniel, Marisa, and Marc, and his granddaughter Chiara.