Gardner, Leroy

Gardner, Leroy

Retired U.S. Navy Lt. LeRoy E. (Roy) Gardner, 75, of Goose Creek, S.C., died Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2008, at Trident Hospital in North Charleston. In his 30 years in the Navy, he saw action in the Korean War; served as a seaman on the USS Scamp, a first-generation nuclear submarine; and trained recruits at boot camp at the Naval Training Center, Great Lakes, Ill. A graduate of the Navy’s nuclear power school, Gardner spent his final years in the military working on submarine tenders stationed in Charleston and at the Fleet Ballistic Missile Submarine Training Center.

Gardner was born May 9, 1933, in Valier, Mont. He dropped out of high school at age 17 to join the Navy and, after boot camp, was sent to Korea. He rose through the enlisted ranks and eventually became, as he liked to say, “an officer and a gentleman by an act of Congress.” He specialized in machinery and electrical repair. A small man, he was nicknamed “Short Circuit” by an electrical repair crew he headed. He was also sometimes called “Mr. Fix-It.”

He was a lifelong tinkerer who enjoyed jobs large and small. After retiring from the Navy, he worked 20 years for Chem Nuclear Systems, a Barnwell, S.C. firm involved in the cleanup of the Three Mile Island nuclear accident in Pennsylvania. He later worked as an engineer and coordination manager responsible for logistics planning for the overhaul of Trident-class submarines in Georgia. He retired to work privately as a locksmith in Summerville, S.C. He also indulged his lifelong passion for repairing, restoring and enjoying sports cars.

Gardner is survived by his wife, Lilia M. (Lee) Gardner; six children: Lisa Gardner and her husband, Ray Cox, of Peachtree City, Ga., Kurt Gardner and his wife, Darlene, of Burke, Va., Verna Howell and her husband, James O. Howell, of Clemson, S.C., Pamela Gardner and her husband, Tom Burke, of Burlington, Vt., Beatrice Gardner and her husband, Sydney, of Statesboro, Ga., Steve Gardner and his wife, Elizabeth, of Takoma Park, Md.; two brothers, Richard L. Gardner of Shepherd, Mont., and William P. Gardner of Arlee, Mont.; a sister, Faith M. Eldridge of Plains, Mont.; and 11 grandchildren.

He is preceded in death by his parents, Paul Leonard Gardner and Isabelle Marie (True) Gardner of Ronan, Mont.; sisters, Annabelle Ethel Louise (Gardner) Grant, Barbara Jane Gardner and Hope Gardner.

Memorial services will be held at 11 a.m. Friday, Oct. 10 at J. Henry Stuhr, Inc., Northwoods Chapel of North Charleston. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Navy —Marine Corps Relief Society, P. O. Box 1170, Baltimore, MD 21298-9137.

A memorial message may be written to the family by visiting www.jhenrystuhr.com