Donald Morine Gardner II (1948=2022)

GARDNER, DEWITT, JACOBSEN, HALL, KENNEY

Posted By: Mark Christian
Date: 8/24/2023 at 16:20:05

From Adams Funeral Home, Ames, Story County, Iowa.

Donald Morine Gardner II passed away Friday, October 21, 2022 at Bethany Life, Story City, Iowa. He was a wonderful father, brother, and friend who will be greatly missed. A Visitation will be Wednesday, November 2 from 11:00 until 1:00 P.M. at Adams Funeral Home with a Celebration of Life Service beginning at 1:00 P.M. Donald's wishes were to be cremated and he will be interred at the Iowa Veterans Cemetery.

Don was born in Jefferson, Iowa on January 2, 1948 to Juanita and Donald Gardner. He was a 1966 graduate of Perry High School before enlisting in the United States Air Force, where he served for 10 years during the Vietnam Era. After seeing the world with the Air Force and as a military contractor, he returned to Iowa briefly before moving to Arizona to pursue his education. When he and his family returned to Iowa, he joined the Ames Power Plant, where he worked for 33 years.

Despite a physically exhausting work schedule of rotating shifts, Don was constantly volunteering – whether ushering at church, running the church Thanksgiving dinner, coaching Little League and soccer, volunteering with Boy Scouts and Camp Fire, or making dessert and then walking through the neighborhood to share it, Don was always looking for ways to help.

In addition to volunteering, Don was a passionate fisherman, both in Iowa and at his summer home on the Wisconsin River. He also enjoyed golf and, earlier in his life, hunting. A farmer at heart, he took time off from work every year to help his dad plant and harvest until his dad passed away. He spent the last nearly 20 years living in rural Ames on what he referred to as his “farm.” An earlier Pride in Property Award reflected his skill as a gardener, and his devotion to improvement projects, even if they didn’t always go as planned. Don was also deeply proud of his military service and the fact that son Mark had enlisted in the Air Force and built his career there; Don’s volunteer service included Freedom Flights and Vietnam Veterans of America.

While his kids Amy and Mark were growing up, Don passed along his love of travel, laying out on legal pads intricate family vacations that usually involved his spending long stints driving them to an ocean or border, camping, and visiting as many national parks and educational sites as possible on the way. In the last 20 years, Don returned to traveling, with trips to visit his kids, fishing in South Dakota, a long-planned Alaska cruise, multiple trips to Kauai and to Arizona, and even a safari in Kenya. A favorite trip, though, was to Lambeau Field to see his beloved Green Bay Packers play. A devoted fan and proud Shareholder, Don believed Green Bay Packers attire was appropriate for any occasion.

Don had numerous health challenges over the last three years that, along with Covid quarantines, limited his abilities and left him wheelchair bound. Even so, he found ways to help others – calling bingo and organizing movies and endless cribbage games for his fellow nursing home residents, and using Facebook and video messaging to keep up with family and friends.

He was also incredibly social – even on one of his final trips to his beloved Hickory Park, he found a way to strike up a conversation with the neighboring table, and within hours of moving to Bethany Life, was working the room and attending as many activities as he could. (Though Free Ice Cream Fridays was a particular favorite.)

Don is survived by his loving family including daughter Amy Gardner (Keith Sbiral) of Chicago and son Mark Gardner (Jean Hurley Gardner) of Baltimore. He is also survived by four sisters: Janet Gardner of Ames, Marcia DeWitt of Des Moines, Barbara (Jody) Jacobsen of Reno, NV, and Donita Hall of Sparks, NV, and numerous nieces and nephews. His many friends include special friend Renee Twedt of Ames.

Don was preceded in death by his father Donald Gardner I, mother Juanita Gardner, step-mother AJ Gardner, twin brother Ronald, and sister Marilyn (Gardner) Kenney. A few days before he passed away, Don shared his belief that he would always be with his children in spirit, before remarking that he would be reunited with the child Mark and Amy always knew was the favorite – the family dog Bridget.

Amy and Mark are grateful to Cathy Hockaday, the staffs at Mary Greeley Medical Center, (especially Amy Bartine Olson), MercyOne Medical Center, UnityPoint Health Iowa Methodist Medical Center, the Community Living Center at VA Central Iowa Healthcare, Bethany Life (where everyone from therapy dog Rowdy to the nurses, CNAs, housekeepers, social worker Barb Courtney and CEO Kim Schilling made him feel at home), and Suncrest Hospice (particularly Peyton, Jordan, and James) for the care and respect their dad received.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations may be made to the Ames Animal Shelter http://www.AmesAnimalShelter.org/, the Bethany Life Employee Appreciation Fund https://app.etapestry.com/onlineforms/BethanyLifeFoundation/donateonline.html, and the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption https://www.davethomasfoundation.org. The family also encourages all who knew Don to thank a veteran for their service in his memory.