GARDNER, Fred C. jr. - b. June 12, 1918 - d. November 18, 2008

[patyrn]

Born on June 12, 1918, Fred Carl Gardner, Jr. was the only son of Fred Carl Gardner, Sr. and Nettie Alice (Dolen) Gardner.  Born in Howard, Kansas, Fred spent his first three years of life in Howard and Moline with his loving father and beautiful Irish mother.  Fred's father was Superintendent of Howard and Moline Public Schools, and his mother was a schoolteacher.  At three years of age, he lost his mother due to a horseback riding accident.  Following her death, Freddie Carl became the favorite child of his large extended family on both his mother's and father's side.  After his mothers' burial, he went directly to live with his Uncle Sam and Aunt Jessie on their farm near Howard.

By the time Freddie was 12 years old, his father had completed his Master's Degree at Columbia University in New York, and together they established a home in Abilene, Kansas where his father had the position of Superintendent of Schools.  In Abilene, Freddie met his childhood sweetheart and future wife, Ruth Mary Nelson.  Fred said that he always knew someday Ruth Mary would be his wife.

In 1941, Fred enlisted in the Army Air Corps following a childhood dram to learn to fly like his hero, Charles Lindberg.  He became a natural in the aviation field, both as a mechanic and pilot, and later as a pilot instructor.  On New Year's Eve of 1944, Fred proposed to Ruth Mary, and they were married in January 1945 in Montgomery, Alabama.

Fred served in various capacities for the Army Air Corps during WWII.  He observed the first atomic bomb test, the Trinity Test, on July 25, 1945.  After WWII, Fred completed studies that he had begun through KU and achieved his Bachelor's Degree in Education.  From August 1951 until July 1967, he was a flight instructor and flight supervisor for the U..S. Air Force and U.S.
Army civilian contract flying schools.  In 1953, one of his students was Jack Swigert, future astronaut and Command Module Pilot on Apollo 13.  

During these years, his family grew, and by 1958 he was the proud father of five children, three girls and two boys  Fred moved to Bethany, Oklahoma and began his Federal Aviation Adminisration career in July 1967 as a FAA Airman Examination Specialist in Oklahoma City.  He later advanced to the position of FAA Aviation Safety Inspector. His distinguished 25 years of FAA service included many achievements.  In 1992, Mr. Gardner received the FAA Distinguished Career Service Award from the Administrator of the Federa Aviation Administration.

Fred Carl Gardner, Captain USAF, was a resident of Entiat, Washington from 2000-2005 and Wenatchee, Washington for the last two years.  He celebrated his 90th birthday in June 2008 with all of his children present.  On November 16, 2008, Fred suffered a stroke and died peacefully on the evening of November 18, 2008.  As the Wenatchee skies cleared, Fred took his final flight in to the heavens.

Fred was preceded in death by his wife, Ruth Mary Gardner.  He is survived by his five loving children and their spouses: James  Nelson Gardner and wife Lynda, Mary Josephine (Dolly) Greene and husband Steve, Ruth Louise Parsons and husband Scott, Esther Jane Dalgas and husband Gary, John Frederick Gardner.  He has six admiring grandchildren; Geoffrey Carl Dalgas, Rachel Elizabeth Gardner, Ruth Marie Dalgas, Sam William Parsons, Nathanael James Dalgas, Benjamin Miles Dalgas, and Joe Nelson Gardner, and two great-grandchildren, Nelida Day Dalgas and Caleb James Dalgas.

Memorial services for Fred C. Gardner, Jr. will be held at 10:00 a.m. on August 16, 2009 at the Entiat Cemetery on Entiat River Road in Entiat, Washington.  Fred will be honored with a 21-gun salute by the American Legion Post #10.  Arrangements are assisted by Telford's Chapel of the Valley in East Wenatchee, Washington.  Memorial tributes may be left at www.telfordschapel.com.  Contact th family directly by e-mail at seastar@aceweb.com and johng999@aol.com

To read more about the life of Fred C. Gardner, Jr., go to www.faaace.com.

(published in the Prairie Star 7-22-2009)