Jean (Bell) GARDNER

BELL, GARDNER, SUMNERS, SCHIEK, MILLER, KESKITALO, HOGAN, FLIEDNER, ALLEN

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 5/4/2015 at 14:03:37

July 31, 1914 --- April 29, 2015

Jean B. Gardner, 100, passed away on Wednesday, April 29, 2015 at the Algona Manor Nursing Home in Algona, Iowa. Funeral services for Jean Gardner will be held on Monday, May 4, 2015 at 10:30 AM at the United Presbyterian Church, 219 1st Street North West in Clarion, with Pastor Bill Kem officiating. Burial will take place at Evergreen Cemetery in Clarion. Visitation will be held one hour prior to services at the church on Monday, beginning at 9:30 AM.

Jean was the daughter of David and Myrtle (Sumners) Bell and was born on July 31, 1914 at the family farm located southwest of Clarion, Iowa. After high school, Jean began her employment with the Northwestern Bell Telephone Company in Clarion as a telephone operator. This was a job she held until August 19th 1962, when the telephone company converted to the dial system. Jean was one of two operators who connected the last operator assisted calls on the night the Clarion telephone system was converted to dial. Later Jean worked for several years in the produce departments at the B&W Grocery Store, the Super Value Grocery Store and the Super Foods Grocery Store all in Clarion. Jean retired in 1994 at the age of 80. Jean lived her entire life in Clarion and lived in her home until 2005 when she moved to the Meadows Apartments in Clarion. She moved to Algona in October of 2014 to be near her daughter.

Jean married Wendell Joy Gardner on January 9, 1939. They were married for 41 years at the time of his passing on January 20, 1980. Two children were born from the union of Jean and Wendell, son Rodney David and daughter Judith Rae. Jean was a lifetime member of the United Presbyterian Church in Clarion. She was a kind and loving mother to her children, grand children and great grandchildren who will miss her deeply. Jean enjoyed her friends and acquaintances that she made and loved life. Her positive attitude and unique sense of humor will be remembered by all who knew and loved her.

Jean is survived by her daughter, Judy and her husband Richard Schiek of Algona; grandchildren Steve and Daunyale Schiek, - Landon, Nathan and Chloe, Emmetsburg; Mike and Laura Schiek – Lydia and Ellie, Ft. Dodge; Rick and Chyan Schiek – Jakob and Lily, Cedar Rapids; Kirk and Sheri Miller – Justin, Cole and Dani, Austin, Texas; Robyn (Gardner) and Daryl Keskitalo, Johnson City, Texas; and Michelle (Gardner) and Bill Hogan – Haley, Nick and Grant, Austin, Texas, special Nephew, Denny and Jan Bell, Hampton, Iowa and special niece, Susan Fliedner, Cooper City, Florida. Jean was preceded in death by her husband Wendell, her son Rodney, her twin sister June Allen, sisters Rebia Marie and Ruth and brothers Floyd, Sam, David Jr. and Paul. Memorial contributions may be directed to the United Presbyterian Church in Clarion.

Ewing Funeral Home - Clarion, Iowa
http://www.ewingfh.com/obituaries.php?id=870