Ann Rebecca Gardner

Ann Rebecca (Becky) Gardner

Surrounded by her extended family, Ann Rebecca (Becky) Gardner, 82, died Sunday, October 12, 2008 after an extended illness. Becky had been a resident at Consulate Health Care in Woodstock for the last six years.

A graduate of Woodstock High School and Strayer College in Washington, Becky was born Oct. 27, 1925, the daughter of William Luther "Bud" and Lula Ellen Golladay of Woodstock, who preceded her. Her sister, Dorothy Golladay Sacrey, and two brothers-in-law, Charles "Buck" Sacrey and Andrew Paul Nichols, also precede her.

Becky is survived by her sister, Charlotte Nichols of Flint Hill, Virginia. Also surviving are her eight children and their spouses: Regina Bright, William "Bill" and Nancy Gardner, Angela and William "Larry" Talley, Lisa and Scott Currie, Christopher and Stacey Gardner, Suellen Gardner and Jamie Koontz, all of Shenandoah County, Melanie Gardner and Gary Johnson of Silver Spring, Maryland, and Jonathan and Jennifer Gardner of Lovettsville, Virginia. One son, Timothy P. Gardner, passed away in 1989.

Becky leaves behind 17 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren and one step-great-granddaughter, many beloved nieces and nephews and dozens of others who claimed her as "Momma." Becky was a beloved mother, sister, aunt, grandmother, great-grandmother and friend.

At the age of 17, Becky started work at the Library of Congress. She later took a position as a receptionist for a neurologist in Washington, DC, and then as an administrative assistant at the U.S. Department of Commerce. After her marriage to Eugene B. Gardner in 1951, she moved with her family from Washington, DC to South Carolina, then to Mississippi, and finally, in 1964, back to her beloved Virginia. She is a former employee of the Virginian Truck Stop and The Springhouse Restaurant.

She lived on Church Street in Woodstock for nearly 40 years, and she was a member of the Emanuel Lutheran Church in Woodstock. Becky's home on Church Street was home to many -- her own children, neighborhood children and children she kept. Becky was a terrific cook, and she loved nothing more than to have her house full of people she could feed. She will be remembered for her whistle, her energy, her determination and strong will as well as her unending hospitality. She loved her family, her friends, her gardens, her houseplants, the time outdoors in her beloved Shenandoah County and her animals -- especially her cats, Bebe, Coco and Chablis.

Family and friends are invited to celebrate her life, her stories and her memory at the American Legion Post #199 on Muhlenberg Street in Woodstock on October 24 from 6 to 9 p.m. The Rev. Tom Berlin of Floris United Methodist Church will officiate the graveside memorial at Sunset View Memorial Gardens on October 25, at 11:30 a.m.

The family requests, in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the National Kidney Foundation (http://www.kidney.org/); to the American Diabetes Association (http://www.diabetes.org); to the Alzheimer's Foundation of America (http://www.alzfdn.org/); or to a charity of your choice.

Arrangements by Dellinger Funeral Home in Woodstock.

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