Marvin B. Gardner

Mr. Gardner was born on September 20, 1919, in Schenectady, NY, to Marvin B. Gardner, Sr., and Mabel E. Hotchkiss Gardner. At an early age he moved to a farm in North Greenbush, NY. He was active in 4-H clubs and graduated from Troy High School in Troy, NY, in 1937. After graduating from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute with a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering in 1942, he entered the US Army Air Corps and served as a Flight Engineer on a B-29 during World War II. In 1944 he married his wife of 61 years, Vera Anita Ostrander of Defreestville, NY, (deceased 2005), and in 1945 was honorably discharged from military service.

In 1946, the family moved to Roselle Park, NJ. Mr. Gardner was employed by Tidewater Oil Company in Bayonne, NJ, and Bechtel Corporation in New York City before starting his own engineering firm, The M. B. Gardner Co., Inc. in 1960. For the next 25 years he provided consulting engineering services in the chemical, petroleum, and civil engineering areas. He was awarded two US patents for pre-stressed pipelines and was involved in pipeline installations of that type in Maine and Chile.

Mr. Gardner was a long time member of Community United Methodist Church in Roselle Park, NJ, and served on the Roselle Park Board of Education. He enjoyed writing poetry and was an avid gardener. He is survived by a sister, E. Helen Gardner of Troy, NY, four sons – Mark, Hugh, Fredric, and Peter, seven grandchildren, and one great granddaughter.

The funeral service will be held on Saturday, August 24th, at Community United Methodist Church at 11:00, followed by interment at Graceland Memorial Park in Kenilworth, NJ. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the church. The family will receive friends at the church 30 minutes prior to the service.