Matthew Lee Gardner, COL, US Army (Retired.) 91, a career military and civil servant, died Sunday, December 8, 2019. He was the son of the late Katherine Lewis and Lee Washington Gardner of Hampton, VA. He was a graduate of Hampton High School and Oglethorpe University in Atlanta, GA. He served on active duty in the US Army from 1951 to 1963 at which he reverted to US Army Reserve status and served in the active reserves until 1988, when he retired with the rank of Colonel. He retired from the Department of the Army, Headquarters TRADOC, Ft. Monroe after 25 years of Civil Service.
After his retirement from Civil Service, he served in the League of Downtown Churches in Newport News, and was active in the North End Huntington Heights Association. He continued serving his community as a volunteer in the Military Retirement Office and as a member of the Ft. Monroe Retiree Council.
He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Anne Southall Gardner; two daughters and their spouses: Lee Anne Gardner Warrenfells and Edward Hampton Warrenfells of Austin, TX; Amy Gardner Ward and Vincent James Ward of Newport News, VA; four grandchildren, Lydia Anne Ward, Chloe Marie Ward, Ardis LaRue Warrenfells and Lenia Gardner Warrenfells; his sister Juliette Gardner Wheaton of Williamsburg, VA; and niece Martha Garrison Grubaugh of Newport News, VA. He was preceded in death by his niece Katie Wheaton Andrews of Sterling, VA and nephew Andy Wheaton of Tampa, FL. The family wishes to express a special thank you to the staff for the love and care he was given in the Memory Care Unit at Mennowood, and to Hospice Care.
The family will have a private burial. A visitation will be held from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on Friday, December 27, 2019 at Parklawn-Wood Funeral Home 2551 N. Armistead Ave Hampton, VA 23666. Memorial donations may be offered to Peninsula SPCA or to a charity of one’s choice.
Friends are encouraged to visit www.parklawn-woodfh.com to share memories and offer words of condolence with the family.
