Obituary of Charles Ernest Gardner

Charles Ernest Gardner, always helping neighbors When folks in Charles Ernest Gardner's neighborhood needed help, they knew what to do - call Charlie. "If anybody had anything go wrong, they would just pick up the phone and call Charlie," said Mr. Gardner's wife of 35 years, Judy A. Chism Gardner. "He has done everything for everybody around here for the past 30 years. There isn't a neighbor he hasn't helped. Everybody kept saying, 'What are we going to do when he's not around?' He is going to be greatly missed in this neighborhood." Mr. Gardner, 62, of Independence, died Saturday at St. Elizabeth Hospice Unit in Covington. He was a former crane operator with Ortner Freight Car and a member of Nicholson Christian Church. Mr. Gardner was secretary of the Cherokee Bowl Tuesday Night Men's League and an Army veteran. He was especially adept at fixing lawnmowers for neighbors. "A lot of people called him 'The Lawnmower Man,'" said his wife. "He loved to tinker with lawnmowers." Mr. Gardner could do a lot more than fix lawnmowers for neighbors. "During the big blizzard of '77 he would go get somebody's furnace started," recalled Mrs. Gardner. "During a thunderstorm, someone would call and say, 'Charlie, can you run upstairs and close my windows? "He would be house sitting or dog sitting or doing just about anything for anybody. One time a friend had a pickup truck roll into a lake. Charlie went into the lake to get the truck out. "He was a very caring person, and he's really been great for people. He had a real loving personality about him." Mr. Gardner was also notable for his deep, husky voice. "He had a real deep voice like Conway Twitty," said his wife. "Whenever he saw some ladies in the neighborhood, he would say in that real deep voice, 'Hello, darlings.'" The only time that a neighbor might have to wait a little bit to get Mr. Gardner's help was on Sunday afternoons. "Charlie was a very avid NASCAR fan, and he loved to watch NASCAR on TV on Sunday afternoon," said Mrs. Gardner. "If it was dinner time and NASCAR was on, he would turn on the TV at the dinner table." Other survivors include a daughter, Julie A. Hodges of Mount Olivet; a son, Greg Collins of Dry Ridge; a sister, Margie Adams of Covington; and four grandchildren. Services will be at 11 a.m. Wednesday at Nicholson Christian Church in Independence. Visitation will be from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the church. Burial will be in Independence Cemetery. Memorials are suggested to Nicholson Christian Church Building Fund, 1970 Walton-Nicholson Pike, Independence, Ky. 41051.