Francis Robert Gardner Sr.

He lived in Medford, MA and graduated from Medford High in 1941. After attending Wheaton College for two years, where he lettered in football, he put his college studies on hold to join the Army Air Corps during World War II. He served his duty as a tail gunner with the 8th Air Force, 100th bomb group, on a B-17 Flying Fortress at the Thorpe Abbotts air base in Norfolk, England. Francis and the rest of the crew all survived their required 30 missions together. Shortly before his honorable discharge from the military he married his sweetheart, Muriel Ada Campbell, of Cambridge MA, on October 30, 1944. Upon completing his duty he returned to college at Houghton College for a year before completing his pastoral studies at Gordon College, graduating in 1948. He was ordained into the ministry on December 3, 1948 and became a missionary serving in Steep Falls, ME, East Limington, ME, and Effingham Falls, NH, where he also drove a rural bus route from 1960-1969. He then accepted a pastorate at Emmanuel Baptist Church in Old Saybrook, CT where he served from 1969-1988 before retiring to Sarasota FL. In Sarasota, he became a greeter at Walmart and worked there 26 years before he fully retired in 2014. He was a Boston Red Sox fan and played the trombone until he was in his early 90’s.

Survivors include four children: Stephen Gardner (Holly) of Hailey, ID, Timothy Gardner (Kathryn) of Topeka, KS, Cynthia Kinchla (Richard) of Falmouth, MA, and Daniel Gardner of Brunnel, FL., eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his wife, Muriel, son Francis R. Gardner, Jr., and daughter Carol Dunnaway.

A memorial service with military honors will be held on Monday, May 29, 2023 at 10:00 AM at Sarasota National Cemetery, 9810 State RD 72, Sarasota, FL 34241.

For online tributes, please visit www.rtsfunerals.com