Obituaries

Noveber 29, 1925 to August 20, 2022

WINAMAC - Phyllis J. Gardner, 96, of Winamac, passed away Saturday, Aug. 20, at Wynnfield Crossing in Rochester.

She was born Nov. 29, 1925 in Elkhart, to the late Carl C. and Helen I. [Petit] Himebaugh. She graduated from Elkhart High School in 1944. She then attended Kalamazoo College in Kalamazoo, MI for two years before earning a bachelor’s degree in education from Indiana State Teacher’s College in Terre Haute. While in college, she met Kenneth E. “Kenny” Gardner, and they were married on Aug. 21, 1948. He survives.

Phyllis Gardner

She is also survived by:
Susan K. Gardner, Eagle, CO, Daughter
April L. Gardner, Winamac, Daughter
Nan E. Gardner, Eagle, CO, Daughter
Wendy G. (Chuck) Rose, Winamac, Daughter
Michael D. Rose, Grandson
Katie L. Kennedy, Granddaughter
Evan C. Rose, Grandson
Anya L. Kurronen, Granddaughter
Kenna E. Kurronen, Granddaughter
Eleanor J. Gardner, Granddaughter
Amelia G. Gardner, Granddaughter
Lucy R. Kennedy, Great-Granddaughter

Preceded in death by:
Ann G. Rose, Infant Granddaughter
Ralph G. Himebaugh, Brother

Mrs. Gardner taught elementary, middle school, and high school for 23 years, retiring from Winamac Schools in 1983. Although she loved teaching, she always said her first career was as a wife and mother. Phyllis and Kenny proudly raised their four “Gardner girls” in Winamac. She possessed a deep Christian faith and was active in the Winamac First United Methodist Church. Over the years, she led and participated in various women’s groups, taught Sunday and Bible schools, and assisted with Kiwanis Club dinners. She cherished her Wednesday morning Bible study group meetings. Hers was a living faith, exhibited through her kind words, concern and caring for others, gentleness, and tenderness to those around her. Her sweetness and love were a part of her to the very end. She was a member of Monroe Modern Home Ec Club for over 50 years. She especially enjoyed helping her daughters and other young women with their 4H sewing projects. The couple traveled throughout the U.S. and many parts of the world together, always making friends wherever they went. They often traveled with People to People, an organization founded in 1956 by the Eisenhower administration to build cultural connections between everyday citizens around the world. This organization embodies the Gardner’s love of people and travel. She will be deeply missed, but her love will be a part of everyone she touched forever.

Visitation will be from 4 to 6 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 25, at Frain Mortuary in Winamac. Additional visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m., Friday, Aug. 26. The funeral service will follow at 11 a.m. (Friday), at the funeral home with Donnie Kohls and Pastor Jeff Herron officiating. Burial will be at Winamac Cemetery in Winamac.

Memorial donations may be made to the Community Foundation of Pulaski County or Winamac First United Methodist Church.

Online tributes may be offered at www.frainmortuary.com.