ELOISE GARDNER

GARDNER, Eloise Eloise W. Gardner Eloise Woodward Gardner passed away peacefully on October 15, 2021, at the age of ninety-seven, from complications of a recent fall. Predeceased by her husband, Frank H. Gardner, and her youngest daughter, Barbara D. Gardner. She spent the last seventeen years of her life at Brookhaven in Lexington, MA. Eloise grew up in Truro, MA, attended St. Mary's Hall in New Jersey and completed her nurses training before marrying her childhood sweetheart Frank H. Gardner and settling in West Newton, MA to raise a family. She was an active participant in her husband's antique car hobby which took them to Vermont where there were beautiful winding roads to explore in vintage vehicles. They settled in Woodstock Village, moving a brick house from the present site of Mac's Market to the Woodstock Green. The family then moved to a farm on Hartland Hill in the sixties, where pond picnics, walking trails, back porch sunset evenings with family and friends and the antique car back roading could all be enjoyed. Eloise rode in the Hartland Fourth of July parade with her husband Frank in their 1929 Packard for many of their Vermont summers. She was a member of The Hartland Nature Club which once counted close to three hundred bats as they launched at the crepuscular hour from the rafters and eves of "Sky Farm's" barn and house. Eloise was also an enthusiastic supporter of the Esqua Bog project in Hartland. Eloise was an artist's daughter, and she had an artist's eye. Children's book illustration was a lifelong passion. Sharing her interest with her children and friends, she enjoyed collecting and started a children's book illustration group at Brookhaven. She was a member of a neighborhood sewing group in West Newton, a Girl Scout leader and an active volunteer for twenty years at Sherrill House in Boston, training other nurses and serving as Board President. Additionally, Eloise and her husband were devoted parishioners and supporters of Trinity Church in Copley Square. She was proud of being a Cape Codder and the granddaughter of Ralph Crosby, who designed and built the Crosby Catboat. There is still a Crosby Boatyard in Osterville, MA where she liked to visit in recent years. Eloise often said family was "the most important thing in her life." Known by many as "Weezie," with a catboat named after her, she will be remembered for her independent spirit, her leadership, strength and courage, appreciation of art and nature and her love of conversation about subjects that mattered. She was particularly fond of bread and her favorite meal was breakfast. She will be greatly missed! Eloise is survived by her brother Ralph Woodward and his children and grandchildren; her daughters Tamson P. Gardner of Essex, MA, Nan H. Powlison of Glenside, PA, Josephine Crosby of Shelburne, VT; a son Cleveland W. Gardner of Santa Fe, NM; five grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that people donate to the charity of their choice. A private Family Service will be held at Snow's Cemetery in Truro, MA.

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