William (Bill) Gardner, of The Villages, FL, passed away peacefully October 20, 2018 after a hard fought battle with MDS/Leukemia. He was born Nov. 18, 1943 to Ken and Lauraine Gardner in Farmington MI.
He attended Our Lady of Sorrows, enlisted in the Navy after high school and served on the USS Lexington Aircraft Carrier. After his service, he went to work at the GM Proving Ground in Milford, MI as a photographer and retired after 31 years.
He was a member of the Ft Myers Beach Moose Lodge, American Legion Post 347 in Lady Lake and The Villages Woodworking Club. Bill had 3 passions; his Harley’s, his guitars and his boats. He lived life to the fullest, enjoying every moment of his journey, laughing and making others laugh.
He will missed by so many as everyone was his friend, especially Marti Gardner, his wife and best friend for 38 years. He leaves two daughters, Tammy (Mark) Ozment of Bradenton FL and Shannon (Rob) Perry of Fenton MI, his best friend and brother Mike (Cindy) Gardner of Fenton MI and sister Nancy ((Pete) Peterson of Bend OR. He also leaves grandchildren Brett, Amber, Corey, Kirsten, Courtney, Chase, Ashley and Billie and great-grandchildren Bella, Lacy, Liam and Zoe, 8 nephews and one niece. Bill was loved by so many people including his 5 sisters-in-law and 5 brothers-in-law, many aunts, uncles and cousins. His trail of friends stretched from Michigan where he loved riding with Randy, Jack and his bros to Ft. Myers Beach, FL, to The Villages where he loved to golf with all his buddies, especially his best bud Gary Turnbull.
There will be a Celebration of Life in The Villages on Friday and in Michigan at a later date.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the American Legion Post #347, 699 West Lady Lake Blvd. Lady Lake, FL 32159 in memory of Bill Gardner and designated for Disabled American Veterans or to the charity of your choice.
