Born June 11, 1931 in Germany, she was the daughter of George and Elizabeth Kramer Doersam. She was predeceased by her husband Roland L. Gardner in 1979. They had been married in 1948 in Germany after meeting when he was a soldier there in WWII. After the war, she came to the United States, where she settled with her husband in the Andover area for a short time, before they opened Gardner Body Shop in Alfred Station in 1960, which they operated together for many years.
She graduated from school in Germany and also attended two years of seamstress school there. After her husband’s death, she worked at Alfred University for 13 years, until her retirement in 1991. She also did domestic work for many area families for several years after that.
Hilda was an active member of the Lighthouse Christian Fellowship in Alfred, where her son Roger is the pastor. She also enjoyed attending the Allegany County Senior Citizens Luncheons at the Alfred University Center.
Hilda will be greatly missed by her children and grandchildren, who were the center of her life.
Survivors include her five children, Roland “Rolo” Gardner, Arlington, Virginia: Pastor Charles and Linda Emerson, Hendersonville, North Carolina: Elizabeth White of Memphis, TN: Pastor Robert and Penny Gardner of Alfred: Heidi and Robert Gruhot of Gaithersburg, Maryland: fifteen grandchildren, eleven great-grandchildren and some cousins still residing in Germany.
To send a remembrance to the family, please visit www.brownandpowersfuneralhomes.com. The family is being assisted by David W. Ames, director at the Robertson Funeral Home.
The family will be present to receive friends on Sunday (January 22, 2017) from 2-4 p.m. at the Lighthouse Christian Fellowship Church, 1498 Randolph Rd. Alfred, NY 14802 where funeral services will follow at 4 p.m., with Pastor Roger W. Gardner and Pastor Charles Emerson officiating. Burial will be in Woodlawn Cemetery, Almond, NY.
Friends may make memorial contributions to: the Lighthouse Christian Fellowship, 1498 Randolph Rd. Alfred, NY 14802.
