Anthony Ivan Gardner

On July 4th, 2024 Anthony (Tony) Ivan Gardner declared independence from his earthly body and returned to his heavenly home. Dad wouldn’t have wanted it any other way: fireworks, food, and family, every year, to celebrate his return home after completing his earthly mission. After bidding farewell to his wife, children, and grandchildren, he peacefully slipped away from this life after getting blindsided by stage IV lymphoma.

Tony was born on November 2, 1946 in Lehi, Utah to Wallace and Marthane (Johnson) Gardner. Growing up with five sisters, Tony learned many important life skills such as working hard, laughing harder, and how to put the toilet seat down….skills that served him well throughout his life. He moved with his family to California where he spent the majority of his boyhood building forts, pestering his sisters, and inventing new games to play. As a teenager, he became an accomplished dancer which made him quite popular with the ladies on the dance floor (a trait that skips a generation among the males, or so his grandsons would have you believe).

Tony served a mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the South German Mission. After his mission, he attended a local junior college. Eventually, he joined the Army and given his proficiency in the German language was stationed back in Germany where he met his sweetheart, Angelika (Geli) Befort. The details of their courtship remain forever shrouded in mystery since the story varies on whether you listen to Tony’s or Geli’s version, but either way, they were married for time and all eternity in the Swiss temple on June 21, 1973. 

Over the years they lived in Germany; Columbia, South Carolina; Provo, Utah; Lyman, Wyoming; while finally settling down in Nibley, Utah. Along the way, they welcomed six children into their family and taught them to love much, work hard, and eat fast. Tony taught by example in each of these areas. He also cared deeply for those who were less fortunate than himself, and had a knack for picking up hitch-hikers and offering them a place to sleep for the night (much to the dismay of Geli and the kids). As a testament to his great judge of character, we don’t believe he brought home any serial killers.

Tony was a man of many talents. Through the years, he worked as an electrician, machinist, and did maintenance at a variety of companies. He loved learning how things worked and could get anything running again if you gave him enough time. There just wasn’t any guarantee on how long it would run before it broke down again. He was the hardest working man we knew. Even right before he retired at age 75, he could and would work the younger workers to the ground. As age slowed him down, he was still eager to work with his children and prided himself on being “management.” He mastered the skill of sleeping with one eye open, literally. He made legendary crepes. He could sleep any time, any where, and for any duration. A skilled tennis player, he could best any member of the family in a match, even after his hip replacement. 

Tony loved to laugh. He loved jokes. The lamer the joke, the better. He loved adding to his joke arsenal by reading joke books and then trying them out on unsuspecting victims, especially his grandchildren. He had a particular affinity for elephant jokes. Yes, there are elephants hiding in the trees in his front yard, and no, you haven’t seen them because they are so good at hiding. Don’t even ask why their toenails are painted red.

Tony loved his children, but he cherished his grandchildren. He and Geli would travel all over supporting their grandchildren in everything from athletics to the arts. He loved reading, wrestling, and playing games with them. While playing games, he often evoked “grandpa rules” which were any number of changes to the game that made the game easier for him to win. At first these rule changes were subtle, but his thirst for victory made these changes more blatant and egregious as time went on. Even now, when his grandchildren start playing a game, they ask if we are going to play with “grandpa rules”. 

Tony has always been musically inclined. As chorister for our congregation, he was known to stop a hymn mid-verse and remind the congregants that the song should be sung energeticallyor with spirit. Though his highly trained ears could pick out hymns sung with too much melancholy within seconds, they somehow were impervious to the embarrassed moans emanating from our family’s pew. Tony had a beautiful tenor voice, and loved singing in choirs. As time went by, so did his pitch. Later in life, unbeknownst to himself, he developed the amazing skill of being able to sing an entire song 1/4 of a note too sharp. Regardless of his pitch, he loved belting out the hymns of the restoration, singing at the top of his lungs, for which we loved him all the more. 

Tony loved the gospel of Jesus Christ. At one testimony meeting he stood at the pulpit and energetically declared, “It’s true, it’s true! The gospel is true!” Though such comments embarrassed his teenage children to no end, we all grew up with the firm knowledge that our father KNEW the gospel was true.

Tony knew how to dream big. Whether it was salvaging a gym floor from a demolished church so he could build a racquetball court in the backyard, or dreaming of quitting work so he could become a professional tennis player, Tony never let convention stand in the way of his dreams. Even at age 75, he bought himself a mountain bike so he could ride with his grandchildren. And yes, at age 76, Tony shredded the single track of Bear Claw Poppie down in St. George with his grandchildren while the rest of us watched through partially covered eyes. 

Tony survived so much: four rollovers, a snowmobile mountain-climbing competition the first time riding a snowmobile (which also resulted in a rollover), an Evel Knievel-esque wreck on a dirt bike (which he was also riding for the first time), a combined 42 years of teenage parenting, five sisters and three daughters, etc. It finally took an ultra-aggressive lymphoma, followed by Covid and a stroke, to allow death to get the upper hand.

Tony was preceded in death by his parents Wallace and Marthane, his sister, Karen, his baby brother Bradley and his daughter-in-law Wendy (Troy). We can guarantee that they had a 4th of July party in heaven for the ages this year. He is survived by his precious wife Geli; six obedient children (and their spouses): Katy (Mike), Miriam (Judd), Troy (Janelle), Ricky (Carissa), Jonathan (Jamie) and Kira (McKay); 25 grandchildren; 0.8889 great grand child; four wonderful sisters; and the two best neighbors in the world: Miriam and Bob Sagers. 

We are forever grateful for all the support, thoughts, prayers, and visits from friends and neighbors. It takes a community to raise older parents, and mom and dad have the best. 

Tony’s viewing will be on Friday, July 12, from 6-8pm at Allen-Hall Mortuary located at 34 E. Center Street in Logan. Funeral services will be on Saturday, July 13, at 1pm at 130 W. 2600 S. in Nibley with a viewing from 11-12:30pm. The services will be streamed for those who can’t make it. Further details to follow. In Tony’s honor, we invite everyone to learn a new joke and courageously share it with family and friends.

Memories and condolences may be shared and expressed at www.allenmortuaries.com.