Dennis Denny Wayne Gardner

June 25, 1946 – June 28, 2015

Born to the parents of Wayne and Mildred Alice Gardner, Dennis was the first of two children. Living first in Arcadia, California the family eventually moved to Covina, California in the mid 1950’s to a little up-and-coming community known as Charter Oak.

After graduating from Charter Oak High School in 1964, Dennis entered the U.S. Air Force at the height of the Vietnam War. Working for the Strategic Air Command, he was stationed at bases in Washington, Georgia, and the Philippines. Following his term with the Air Force, Dennis was honorably discharged in 1968.

From there, Denny’s life was full of adventures. First married to Linda Seibert (Laskey) in July of 1970, Dennis and Linda ventured and lived in communities such as La Verne, Canoga Park and Grants Pass, Oregon. Linda and Dennis had 2 children; Scott Wayne and Sheri Lynne. They were eventually divorced in 1983.

Dennis then met Helen Jennison in 1986 through their mutual employer and later married in October of 1987. Helen already had 3 daughters; Darlene, Elnora and Janet from her previous marriage and much to Denny’s delight, was not interested in having any more children.

BUT - while stationed in the Philippines, Dennis met and had a relationship with a young lady by the name of Bibiana Baring. Denny eventually received orders to return to the U.S. though and was not able to bring Bibiana back with him at that time. They did manage to stay in touch with each other for some period of time, but contact was eventually lost. Unbeknownst to Denny, Bibiana was pregnant and gave birth to a daughter, Kathy Baring, in December of 1967. And not until late 2014 did the two families discover one another. Kathy had eventually married and gave birth to 3 children; Dennis, Darlyn, and Darylle Veloso. Although Denny was able to “meet” the new extended family via the internet, he never did have the chance to meet any of them in person before his passing.

Dennis’ working career expanded the gamut. Early in his career, he had worked for a few fast food companies, as well as the Federal Reserve Bank. He tried his hand at selling insurance, but that was short lived. He worked at and managed a few drive-thru dairies as well as being employed with CalTrans for a few years before eventually getting in to his last line of work – transportation. He worked for various cab companies, bus lines, and shuttle services and was eventually forced to retire due to the loss of his eyesight in his left eye.

Denny lived a simple life. Although he was known to be a home-body, he did love to travel and was the happiest when he was behind a wheel. So it’s no wonder he ended up in the transportation industry, following in the footsteps of his father and his uncle Basiel. One of Dennis’ interests was in the areas of music, where he loved to play the guitar, drums, and organ. Like his Mom, he was self-taught and dabbled with these instruments often. When not involved in music, his other interests were in movies (making, as well as watching them), computers and especially the great outdoors and camping. He also became a volunteer with the Glendora Police Department for a short period of time.

Dennis is survived by his wife Helen, brother Darrell, daughters Kathy, Sheri, Darlene, Elnora and Janet, and his son Scott. Dennis was preceded in death by his father Wayne and mother Mildred. And, he leaves behind 13 grandchildren and 1 great-granddaughter.

A Memorial Service for Dennis will be held at Draper Mortuary, 811 N. Mountain Ave, Ontario, CA 91762 on Tuesday, July 28, 2015 at 10:00 AM.