Joan M. Gardner

A memorial service will be held at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 19, at St. Simon Church in Los Altos, Calif., for Joan M. Gardner, who died Jan. 15, 2008, at 81. Burial services will follow at 2 p.m. at Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Los Altos, Calif.

Joan was born Feb. 3, 1926, in Butte. Upon graduating from Butte High School, she attended Saint James Nursing School and thereafter began working with the Nursing Cadets in Butte. When she was 21, she moved to Santa Monica, Calif., and took a position as a nurse with St. John's Hospital. In Santa Monica, she also met John J. Gardner, an aeronautical engineer, and they were married in 1951. In 1957 she and her family moved to Santa Clara, Calif. She lived in Santa Clara for over fifty years and was involved in many community and charitable organizations.

She later obtained her R.N. Certification through the University of Redlands and worked at Stanford University Hospital as a Registered Nurse. During this time, she continued on at Redlands to earn her Master's degree in Psychology.

She was an accomplished pianist and artist. She loved playing classical and popular music, as well as painting with watercolors and drawing with pastel. In her later years, she spent many relaxing afternoons in her garden tending to her flowers, and enjoying a rest in the shade when the summer heat became too oppressive.

Joan was a devoted mother, raising seven children. Her independent spirit, patience and perseverance gave her the tenacity and strong will to raise her family all the while fighting a life long battle with rheumatoid arthritis. With her guidance and support she saw all of her children graduate from college and establish professional careers for themselves. Her love for her family was abundant and apparent to those who knew her. She had an accepting nature and easily made friends and was much admired. Her family and friends will dearly miss Joan.

Her husband John died in 1988. Survivors include her sisters Sylvia Delaney and Rosemary DeYoung. Also surviving are her children Greg, Marianne and husband Charles Jackson, Shari, Cathy, Chris, Marty and wife Karol, Dave and wife Stacie; and her grandchildren Rachel and husband Anj, Michael, Jessica, Ryan and Emma.