Marian Kathryn Gardner (also known as Kathy) passed away at Kaiser Hospital in Santa Clara after a brief illness on January 14th. Born on July 31, 1946 in Lawton, OK to Marion and Evelyn Gardner. She grew up in Ardmore, OK. She was a tribal member of the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma.
Kathy moved to Salinas, CA at the age of eighteen where she started her family and worked as a legal secretary at Abrams, Church and Stave. She moved to Milpitas in 1979 and worked as a typing instructor at the Center for Employment Training in San Jose. She later worked as an administrative assistant at IBM in San Jose and several start-up companies in Silicon Valley. She was also an executive assistant at Ernst & Young in Palo Alto and Intuit in Sunnyvale.
Kathy loved a good party. She enjoyed going to rock concerts with her husband and collected concert t-shirts. She made everyone laugh and was a good listener. She cherished taking long drives with her husband in the Milpitas foothills and dipping her feet on hot days at Stevens Creek Park. She enjoyed spending time with her grandkids and making them laugh. Kathy loved her dogs—all 13 Yorkies. Throughout her life, she used vacation time to travel back home to Oklahoma to visit family. She will be greatly missed by all who knew her.
Kathy is preceded in death by her parents Marion and Evelyn Gardner, brother Buck Gardner, sisters Victoria Jones and Lydia Seekins, and her son Robert Lopez.
Kathy is survived by her husband David Winton, brother Oscar Gardner, son Paul Lopez, daughters Lisa Zuniga and Amy Lopez, stepsons James and Bryan Winton, stepdaughter Jessica Geanetta. She was known as Mimi to her grandchildren Samara, Ami, Marley, Sofia, Otis, Brooklynn, Kaydence, and Maverick and numerous nieces and nephews.
Family and friends are invited to attend services on Saturday, January 26 at Lima Family Santa Clara Mortuary, 466 N. Winchester Blvd, Santa Clara. Visitation 9:30am -11am. Funeral will be at 11am – 12pm. Burial will be held at Mission City Memorial Park, 420 N. Winchester Blvd at 12:15-12:45pm.
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