Brown Gardner

Ovid Brown Gardner went to his heavenly home on Saturday, April 5, 2025 with his daughters by his side. He was born on September 3, 1941 to Ovid and Alice Gardner of Concord, NC and had a boyish childhood full of devouring 10 cent hot dogs, wearing out BB guns and digging in the creek behind the house. He progressed to summer jobs working at Concord Creamery, the local mill and picking fruit as a farm hand in Washington State.



Brown's life was characterized by strength and loyalty. He met his wife, Jane Thomson, in high school and they were married almost 60 years before her passing ten months ago. When Brown joined the US Army and was stationed in S. Korea after the war to protect the DMZ, he went AWOL for his own wedding. The family now laughs that their first date was snake hunting because neither liked snakes!



Brown served his profession with dedication. After earning an accounting degree from Pfeiffer College, he became a CPA and worked in Charlotte, Fayetteville and finally for BCBS in Durham for 20+ years. In addition, he served as Treasurer and Elder of several churches and Treasurer of the The Pines of Carolina Girl Scout Council for many years, buying copious cases of girl scout cookies to help the organization.



Being physically active was important to Brown - he was on the Concord Little League team that won the state title in 1953, played tennis on his college team and later adopted pickleball to play with grandkids. He and Jane often rode a "bike for four," went canoeing down the Cape Fear River and took their young daughters and two cousins hiking on the Appalachian Trail for a week. Brown and Elizabeth learned how to scuba dive and planned their first excursion in Florida and, in later years, Brown enjoyed ballroom dancing and continued dancing with his daughters until recently. Up until six months ago, he tried for 50+ push-ups daily.



In addition to his own career he taught his family how businesses work. For several decades, he partnered with a respected cousin in a forestry business with their children serving on the board. As his grandchildren got older, and to ensure they understood finances and business, he hosted a week-long 'Money School' in 2011 with classes and field trips to local businesses, banks and even the Federal Reserve. When the week ended, he gave the kids a share in an investment company he had set up and they have been running the LLC ever since.

Brown retired early so he and Jane could travel abroad and to 49 states (except Hawaii), stopping to get pictures at the state signs. Brown was a patient and supportive husband - helping Jane navigate as her vision declined due to Retinitis Pigmentosa. They moved to Waxhaw six years ago to live closer to Christy's family and made special connections there including friend, Liz.



Family left to cherish Brown's memory are his daughters, Elizabeth Hildreth and her husband, Dave, of Summerfield, NC and Christy Burch and her husband, Marcus, of Waxhaw, NC; six grandchildren, Sam Hildreth (wife Reagan), Alec Hildreth, Zane Burch (wife Alexis), Liberty Burch, Talon Burch (wife Summer), and Levi Burch; brother, Bud Gardner of Concord, NC and brother-in-law, Tom Collins of Charlotte, NC; nieces and nephews.



A celebration of life service will be held at 2:00pm in Marvin, NC at Banks Presbyterian Church on April 13, 2025 with a reception to follow. Condolences may be sent to 8022 New Town Road; Waxhaw, North Carolina 28173 or emailed to christyburch@mac.com. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Brown's memory to Lewy Body Dementia Association at lbda.org.