Samuel Bowie Gardiner

1941 - 2025

Samuel Bowie Gardiner

October 26, 1941 - November 25, 2025

Samuel Bowie Gardiner, a resident of Roanoke and retired United States Air Force Colonel and expert in military strategy, died on November 25, 2025, in Roanoke, Va., at the age of 84. The cause of his death was cancer.

With a career that spanned 55 years, Gardiner became an expert at conducting various military simulations which helped influence security decisions in the U.S. and abroad. At the beginning of his career, Gardiner worked at the Pentagon. He served in Thailand during the Vietnam War, working on plans for POW recovery in Laos. He also served two years at the NATO military headquarters in Belgium as an aide to a German general officer.

Later, he worked at the National War College in Washington, D.C., where he was an enthusiastic and gifted teacher of military strategy to officers, eventually becoming chairman of the operations department. Gardiner also facilitated policy examinations for the State Department, the Agency for International Development and the Central Intelligence Agency. He taught at the Air War College and Naval War College, was a nonresident fellow at Princeton University and a visiting scholar at the Swedish National Defense University.

Gardiner frequently worked on security issues with international representatives, facilitating seminars around the world. He wrote extensively about national security issues. Gardiner's decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit and Bronze Star. In 2019, the Government of Finland awarded him the Order of the Lion of Finland.

Gardiner was preceded in death by his father, Kennard; his mother, Edith; his brother, Robert; and his sister, Jean Muntz. He is survived by his loving and loved wife with whom he was married for 32 years, Susan; two children by his previous marriage, Lisa (Jason) and Ryan; two children from Susan's previous marriage, Lisa Hogan (Paul) and Alison Pope (Kevin); 11 grandchildren; and four great-grandchildren.

Inurnment will take place at Arlington National Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Feeding Southwest Virginia or to The Parkinson's Foundation in his memory.

Oakey's Funeral Service - South Chapel

Roanoke, VA (540) 989-3131