Romaine Luverne Gardner

Obituary

Romaine Gardner passed away on September 7th, 2024 at Alta Vita Memory Care Center, Longmont, Colorado.

He was born on a farm in Wallingford, Iowa on August 19th 1933, and his love of learning took him from a one-room schoolhouse through multiple advanced degrees. At St. Olaf College he received a Bachelor of Arts Cum Laude; it’s also where he met his wife Jane Elder Andrews, who was teaching physical education at the college. They were married in Madison, Wisconsin in 1956 and soon moved to Philadelphia so that Romaine could attend the Lutheran Seminary there. Once ordained, he accepted a call as Assistant Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Maspeth, Queens, New York.

From there he went on to get a Ph.D. from Columbia University and join his wife Jane at Wagner College, where she was already teaching Modern Dance. They settled on Staten Island, where they raised their two children, Sibyl and Nick. While teaching philosophy, Romaine decided he wanted to learn about the philosophy of law and enrolled in a night course at Brooklyn Law School. It intrigued him so much that he went on to complete a Juris Doctorate and enter the field of corporate law as a litigator at Cadwallader, Wickersham and Taft. College administration had also been a lifelong interest for Romaine, and he spent a year as Dean of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, MN. Missing New York and his previous work, he was accepted back at his law firm.

After several more years as a litigator, Romaine went to work at Paine Webber, settling securities cases around the country. Because of this specialization, he was asked to return to Brooklyn Law School and establish a securities clinic, teaching law students how to arbitrate cases for clients who’d been taken advantage of by stockbrokers. At one point he served as Assistant Pastor at Trinity Lutheran on Staten Island, a Law Professor and a securities arbitrator at the same time. He was a person who loved to work. Eventually, he was recruited by Fordham Law School in Manhattan to teach securities law and set up a clinic for their students, as he had done at Brooklyn Law.

It must be said that Romaine was more than a collection of advanced degrees. He was also a longtime collector of many kinds of antiques, becoming an expert at identifying hallmarks on sterling silver. His interests were usually followed by action, whether it be building a wine cellar, growing roses, or even reading the entire works of novelist Graham Greene.

While they made Staten Island their home for many decades, they traveled into Manhattan frequently to attend concerts, lectures and museums. He and Jane were avid travelers, making many European trips, especially to Norway, where both of their ancestors were from.

While Romaine loved working (especially teaching), he retired at eighty-one for health reasons. In 2017 he and Jane moved to Estes Park to be close to family. He resided for many years at Good Samaritan Village and was a member of Shepherd of the Mountains Lutheran Church.

Romaine is survived by Jane, his wife of 68 years and his children Sibyl, who lives in Glen Haven, and Nick, who lives in St. Paul, MN and grandchildren Olivia, Zoe and Jacob.

The family wishes for donations to be considered in Romaine's honor to: Shepherd of the Mountains Church in Estes Park, 2000 Ptarmigan Estes Park, CO 80517 or to Trinity Lutheran Church at 309 St. Pauls Staten Island, NY 10304. Donations may also be sent directly to Allnutt Funeral Services at 1302 Graves Avenue Estes Park, CO 80517.