Sergeant First Class, Lee Roy Gardner
June 1, 1936 – October 28, 2020
Davidson, North Carolina
Lee Roy Gardner, 84, passed away on Wednesday, October 28, 2020, due to COVID-19 and preexisting issues.
Lee Roy, as many preferred to call him, was born to the late Donald and Phyllis Gardner on June 1, 1936, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Lee lived in Davidson North Carolina, just outside Kannapolis, for 46 years (since 1974). He was married 65 years to Patsy Ruth (Garmon) Gardner.
Lee served faithfully and honorably for 20 years in the United States Army, beginning in 1959, and retiring on May 1, 1979, at the rank of Sergeant First Class. Lee was a member of the 82nd Airborne Division located in Fort Bragg, NC, and was an experienced paratrooper. Lee's military expertise was engineering, building bridges, and repairing machine equipment of all types. Lee served his country with six tours in Vietnam and much of his military career was spent as a drill sergeant, training recruits. Lee's second career, after the military, used his ability as an engineer and machine technician. He was known as a man who could do just about anything and was thus in high demand, working on and repairing machines in machine shops of all kinds.
Lee's hobbies included hunting, fishing, woodworking, carpentry, and coin collecting. In addition, Lee enjoyed seafood, with a special appetite for shrimp and crab legs. Lee was also known for being able to eat a boatload of catfish loaded with black pepper – the more, the better. Lee enjoyed sports, but professional football was his favorite. His preferred team, of course, was the local NFL Carolina Panthers. In addition, Lee spent much of his daily discretionary time at Richard's coffee shop in Mooresville, NC where veterans met to encourage one another and share old war stories.
Lee is preceded in death by his mom and dad, Donald and Phyllis Gardner, and his brother, Donald Sherman Gardner, all from Charlotte, NC.
Lee was referred to by his grandchildren affectionally as Pawpaw, sometimes however calling him simply Grandpaw.
In lieu of flowers please donate to one of Lee's two favorite charities; either The Tunnel to Towers Foundation https://tunnel2towers.org/ which builds mortgage-free smart homes for our most catastrophically injured veterans, or to Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital https://www.stjude.org/, where families never receive a bill for anything because all they should worry about is helping their child live.
Information provided by Find-A-Grave member 48681554
Sergeant First Class, Lee Roy Gardner
June 1, 1936 – October 28, 2020
Davidson, North Carolina
Lee Roy Gardner, 84, passed away on Wednesday, October 28, 2020, due to COVID-19 and preexisting issues.
Lee Roy, as many preferred to call him, was born to the late Donald and Phyllis Gardner on June 1, 1936, in Charlotte, North Carolina. Lee lived in Davidson North Carolina, just outside Kannapolis, for 46 years (since 1974). He was married 65 years to Patsy Ruth (Garmon) Gardner.
Lee served faithfully and honorably for 20 years in the United States Army, beginning in 1959, and retiring on May 1, 1979, at the rank of Sergeant First Class. Lee was a member of the 82nd Airborne Division located in Fort Bragg, NC, and was an experienced paratrooper. Lee's military expertise was engineering, building bridges, and repairing machine equipment of all types. Lee served his country with six tours in Vietnam and much of his military career was spent as a drill sergeant, training recruits. Lee's second career, after the military, used his ability as an engineer and machine technician. He was known as a man who could do just about anything and was thus in high demand, working on and repairing machines in machine shops of all kinds.
Lee's hobbies included hunting, fishing, woodworking, carpentry, and coin collecting. In addition, Lee enjoyed seafood, with a special appetite for shrimp and crab legs. Lee was also known for being able to eat a boatload of catfish loaded with black pepper – the more, the better. Lee enjoyed sports, but professional football was his favorite. His preferred team, of course, was the local NFL Carolina Panthers. In addition, Lee spent much of his daily discretionary time at Richard's coffee shop in Mooresville, NC where veterans met to encourage one another and share old war stories.
Lee is preceded in death by his mom and dad, Donald and Phyllis Gardner, and his brother, Donald Sherman Gardner, all from Charlotte, NC.
Lee was referred to by his grandchildren affectionally as Pawpaw, sometimes however calling him simply Grandpaw.
In lieu of flowers please donate to one of Lee's two favorite charities; either The Tunnel to Towers Foundation https://tunnel2towers.org/ which builds mortgage-free smart homes for our most catastrophically injured veterans, or to Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital https://www.stjude.org/, where families never receive a bill for anything because all they should worry about is helping their child live.
Information provided by Find-A-Grave member 48681554
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