Mr. Harrell Lee Gardner

Hartsville, SC Harrell Lee Gardner Mr. Harrell Lee Gardner, 87, died peacefully with his family by his side on Monday, April 29, 2013. Graveside services will be held at 11 a.m. Wednesday, May 1, 2013 at Bethel United Methodist Church Cemetery. The Rev. Fran Elrod will officiate and Brown-Pennington-Atkins is serving the family. The family will receive friends from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday at the funeral home and at other times at the home of Lee and Bonnie Gardner, 509 East Lydia Highway, Hartsville. Mr. Gardner was born in Hartsville, a son of the late Horace Greeley Gardner and Grace Lee Gardner. He was a graduate of Hartsville High School. Upon graduation from high school, Mr. Gardner enlisted in the Army Air Corps. He served with the 8th Air Force as a tail gunner in a B-24 in Shipdam, England. After the successful completion of 25 missions, Mr. Gardner returned home. In 1955, Harrell and Winifred Gardner established Gardner’s Fertilizer and Farm Supply. Laura and Keith Hancock assumed the day to day operations of Gardner’s in 1991. However, Harrell remained a permanent fixture at Gardner’s until 2011. Harrell Gardner was a member of the Hartsville Lion’s Club for 55 years. On Saturday, April 27, 2013, Harrell was inducted into the Lion’s Club Hall of Fame. Harrell was a member of Wesley United Methodist Church and served on the Darlington County Council for 20 years. Mr. Gardner is preceded in death by his wife, Winifred Parrott Gardner, and a son, Lawrence Charles “Larry” Gardner. He is survived by his son, Harrell Lee (Bonnie) Gardner, Jr. and his daughter, Laura Gardner Hancock. His grandchildren are Jennifer Gardner (Kyle) Carlson of Columbia, Mary Grace “Gracie” Gardner of Hartsville, Casey Gardner Hancock of Hartsville, and Rebecca Fanning Whitehead of Rock Hill. He has two great-grandchildren, Katherine Louise Carlson and Michael Robert Carlson. Mr. Gardner is also survived by sisters, Thelma Gardner Gersch of Atlanta, GA, Doris “Dotty” Gardner Chaplin of Hartsville, and his twin sister, Hazel Gardner Puyet of Pawley’s Island, SC. He was preceded in death by a sister Marjorie Gardner Waters. He is survived by many nieces and nephews. Mr. Gardner was blessed with many wonderful friends and customers over his lifetime. A special thank you goes to Harrell’s dear friends who stopped by Gardner’s Fertilizer and Farm Supply to visit with him on a regular basis and continued that friendship after his retirement from Gardner’s. A sincere thanks to all of the devoted customers who made Gardner’s their “garden and farm supply” choice. The family would like to extend their gratitude to all of the employees at Southern Care Hospice for the excellent care they provided to Harrell over the past four months and to Tony Williams and James Jackson for providing him with extra personal care over the past month. The family asks that memorials be made to Wesley United Methodist Church, 145 East College Avenue, Hartsville, SC 29550, or the Darlington County Humane Society, Box 1655, Hartsville, SC 29551.

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Mr. Harrell Lee Gardner

May 29, 1925 - April 29, 2013