Vernon Everett Gardner, 96, of Hendersonville, NC died Wednesday evening, January 6, 2010. He was born on a North Dakota homestead, was a prior resident of Washington, DC before moving to Henderson County in 2008. He received his B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of North Dakota in 1938. Two years of pre-engineering were taken at what was then the North Dakota School of Forestry Junior College in Bottineau, North Dakota. Following a brief period of teaching at the University of North Dakota and two years in industry he came to work in Washington, DC in 1941 for what is now the Naval Sea Systems Command. There he was employed as an electrical, electrochemical and reliability engineer receiving a superior performance reward. Upon retirement from the Navy department in 1974 he was employed as a reliability engineer for several years by area consulting companies. He was a registered professional engineer in the District of Columbia and in the state of California. He was a Senior Life Member in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers where he held numerous offices at both the local and regional level. In the IEEE he received the Centennial Medal, the George Abraham Memorial Award and the Third Millenium Medal in 1984, 1997 and 2000 respectively. He was a life member of the Electrochemical Society. He was a member of the Navy Association of Scientists and Engineers where he received the Outstanding Service Award, the Arts Club of Washington , the Washington Figure Skating Club, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks and a flying club known as The Shillelaghs. He was a member of three honor societies: Tau Beta Pi, where he was President of the District of Columbia Alumni Chapter for many years; Sigma Xi, the Scientific Research Society; and the Phi Theta Kappa. In 1986 he received the Golden Service Award from what at that time was the North Dakota State University-Bottineau Alumni Association. Survivors include his wife of almost sixty years, the former Elizabeth Ann Hunt of Hendersonville; a sister Joyce G. Cyrus, of Kenmare, ND and a brother Donald C. Gardner of Mesa, AZ; two nieces and six nephews including Ross T. Gardner of Burtonsville, MD. Interment will be in the Washington National Cemetery, 4101 Suitland Road, Suitland, MD. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Macular Degeneration Research, P.O. Box 1952, Clarksburg, MD 20871 or to the charity of the donor''s choice. Cedar Hill Funeral Home, Suitland, MD is in charge of local arrangements.