GARDNER, MARY

Mary C. Gardner, 90, of Arvada, passed away on March 9, 2023. She was born Mary Cook on May 1, 1932, in Berkeley, California. As a young girl she also lived in Dallas, Texas, and Chicago, Illinois before the family settled in Denver. Her father, Albert W. Cook was meteorologist in charge of the Denver Weather bureau and her mother, Marjorie Moore Cook was a teacher and homemaker. Mary graduated from South High School and the University of Colorado at Boulder, where she was a member of Delta Gamma sorority, participated on the C.U. ski team, and was a member of C.U. Days royalty. On December 28, 1955 she married Charles Gibson (“Gib”) Gardner and they settled in Arvada to raise their family. Gib was a teacher, counselor, and coach in the Denver Public Schools for over 40 years, and Mary enjoyed going to the various sporting events, and famously cooked large spreads for the Manual High School track teams that Gib coached. Mary initially taught English and History at East High School. When her daughters were a little older, she worked as a teaching assistant at Arvada High School for many years, and also enjoyed selling Avon products. Gib and Mary had two daughters, Kathy (Byron) Gaiter, of Littleton, and Karen (Bob) Mohr of Arvada. In addition to Delta Gamma, Mary was a member of PEO Chapter EJ, and volunteered with Anchor Center for Blind Children. She loved to garden, spend time outdoors and in the mountains, was an avid sports fan, and as long as she was able, never missed a sporting, musical, or other event of her grandchildren, who were her greatest joy. She was preceded in death by her husband, Gib, and by a sister, Elizabeth. She is survived by her daughters, Kathy and Karen, grandsons Matthew and Jacob Gaiter, and granddaughters, Jenny (Brandon) Mcgaughey of Loveland and Sarah (Ryan) Meyer of Arvada, by her brother, Albert M. Cook, of Sacramento California, and many nieces, nephews, cousins and dear friends. Mary did not want a memorial service, and instead requested that her friends and family “go and do something they love” in her memory. Contributions may be made in her memory to anchorcenter.org or to Community Table (cotable.org).