Judith Ann Gardner

Judith Ann (Hosford) Gardner passed away on October 30 at the age of 79 after living graciously and bravely with cancer for years. She was born July 26, 1942, in Toledo, Oregon, to Verla (Everson) and Vernon Hosford (both deceased).  When she was quite young, her family moved to Roseburg, Oregon. She graduated from Roseburg High School and went on to receive her B.A. in Education from Oregon State University in 1964. While in Corvallis, she met David Gardner; they married shortly after her graduation and spent the next 55 years together until his death in January of 2020. They raised four children and were blessed with five grandchildren.   Judy was an educator and a lifelong advocate for children, benefiting hundreds of young lives. Her first years were spent at Griggs School (Lebanon) and Bellfountain School. After that, she worked as a substitute teacher while her own children were small. She returned to teaching full-time at Riddle School District, where she taught all levels from kindergarten to high school alternative education. While working full-time and raising her children, she earned her Master’s in Education from University of Oregon in 1989. She ended her career as principal of Riddle Elementary School. In all, she worked in Riddle for over 20 years.   In retirement, Judy found great satisfaction and joy in her involvement with the Daughters of the American Revolution. Over the years, she served as Chapter Regent of the Abigail Scott Dunaway Chapter, State Librarian, and State Historian. She also wrote two books for DAR: First Ladies of Oregon: a 150 Year Remembrance: the Newell House Museum Gown Collection (2009), and Mary Moody’s Inland Passage Photo Album 1890 (undated).   Judy was hard-working with a strong creative streak that was evident in all aspects of her life. In her twenties, she did window dressing for Lippman’s department store in Corvallis. She painted, sewed, cooked, gardened, and wrote with flair. She loved interior design and hunting for treasures at yard sales and antique stores. Judy had a knack for making the spaces around her beautiful and the people around her feel beautiful. A ranch wife with a can-do attitude, if she wanted or needed something, she didn’t have to consult a manual or even go to a store; she just figured it out. She was an avid reader who felt a little uncomfortable unless she had a tall stack of novels waiting for her at all times. Like her husband, she loved all animals, and we shared our lives with bottle calves, bummer lambs, pygmy goats, horses and ponies, a milk cow, and many, many cats and dogs. Judy was especially fond of Arabian horses, Persian cats, and her beloved Labs. She was a capable, warm-hearted optimist, generous to a fault, with a delightfully snarky sense of humor. Those of us lucky enough to have her in our lives were shored up by the constant flow of her love and support.  She is survived by daughter Melissa Hart, her husband John, and granddaughter Maisie of Missoula, Montana; daughter Elizabeth Stanley, her husband Bud, and grandchildren Justin and Lilly Rogers of Corvallis; son Vern Gardner of Stayton; daughter Christine Constantine, her husband Anthony, and grandsons Marcus and Lucas of Portland; nephew David Hosford of Burns; and niece Dianne Hosford of Port Orford.