Kathryn Stauffer Gardner

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Kathryn Stauffer Gardner passed away from the cumulative effects of Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus (NPH) on January 11, 2024.  She was born July 26, 1945 to Clifford John Stauffer and Claris Beth Anderson Stauffer in Logan, Utah.  She was raised in Hyrum, Utah, and attended Lincoln Elementary and South Cache High School, where she graduated in 1963.  Her father, a pharmacist, owned and operated the Hyrum Rexall Drug Store on Main Street, where all family members learned to work.

After graduation from high school, she attended Utah State University (USU), where she joined the Tri-Delta Sorority.  For two summers, she traveled to Jackson, Wyoming to work as a cabin maid at the Jackson Lake Lodge, making Wyoming one of her favorite places to vacation in later life.

She met Don Gardner at a church activity in Wellsville, and after a brief courtship, they were married in the Logan LDS Temple on April 14, 1967.  That same year Kathy graduated with a bachelor’s degree from USU.  She supported the couple by teaching kindergarten at Lewiston Elementary School while her husband finished his degree at USU.  Both taught school in Park City, Utah, 1968-69, which also marked the birth of their first child, Anne.

This point in her life marked the beginning of many moves, additional education and the birth of five more children.  The Fall of 1969 led them to Indiana and two more children (Jen and John).  Subsequent moves included to Tempe, Arizona (children Joel and Janette) and Portland, Oregon (son Paul).

Next, the family moved to Laramie, Wyoming, where Kathy embarked on a career in social work by earning a second bachelor’s degree.  The family then moved to Boca Raton, Florida, where Kathy worked as a Social Worker/Discharge Planner at Boca Raton Community Hospital.  After a move to South Carolina, Kathy earned her master’s degree in social work at the University of South Carolina.  Over the years, she ministered to numerous children and adults as a Medical Social Worker, Early Interventionist, Child, Adolescent and Family Therapist,  and Employee Assistance Counselor.  Returning to Utah in 1994 was followed by certification as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW).  She worked for ten years as a Clinical Social Worker in the Adult Psychiatric Unit at McKay-Dee Hospital, and as a part-time therapist for LDS Family Services.

Kathy was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and throughout her life served in many different capacities in Primary, Young Women and Relief Society.  She loved traveling with her husband (including in their Airstream travel trailer), vacationing with friends and family in Idaho and Wyoming, trips to Hawaii and the Mediterranean, and visits to children and grandchildren scattered around the country.  Her greatest love was for dear longtime friends, her extended family, and her six wonderful children and eleven grandchildren.

She was preceded in death by her parents, her sister Marilyn, and two children, Joel and Janette.  The family wishes to thank the caring and compassionate staff at Hidden Valley Assisted Living, and the specialists from Aspen Ridge Home Health and Hospice for the expert care she received in her final days.  A funeral service will be held at Allen-Hall Mortuary in Logan, Utah, at 12:00 noon on Saturday, January 20, 2024, preceded by a viewing at the same location at 10:30 AM.

The funeral will be livestreamed and can be viewed via the link below (passcode: Gardner)

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84264280187?pwd=SXZPbGpPU2RhakliUUpKVmhoeDVLUT09