Emma A Gardner

Emma A Gardner
Emma A Gardner, age 106, passed away on Wednesday, October 25, 2023 at the Village Care Center, Lee’s Summit, Missouri.
Emma was born the daughter of Schuyler and Rhoda (Herndon) Turner on December 1, 1916, on a farm in Grundy County near Jamesport, Missouri. After attending Jamesport High School she went to Maryville Teachers College and taught in several one room school, including Charity and Prairie Center in Davies County. Emma resumed teaching in 1958, and taught at Laredo R-VIII High School. A long-time member of the Laredo Baptist Church, Emma played the organ and piano for church services and taught Sunday School.
Emma was instrumental in planning and organizing the Laredo Centennial and was a co-author of “Laredo’s First 100 years, 1887-1987.” She was a volunteer and a judge for the Laredo 4-H Fair. She quietly provided help for many in the community by mending clothes, helping with house, and yard work. She was a member of the Retired Teachers of Missouri and the PEO Sisterhood. Emma enjoyed gardening and she made blackberry jam from her own homegrown blackberries. She made dozens of quilts, many of which are cherished by the children and grandchildren for which she made them. She was well known for her light-as-air angel food cake and delicious raisin cookies.
Emma is preceded in death by her husband, Sam Gardner, in 2001, and survived by her four children, Dorothy (Larry) Doyle, Martha (Doug) Schlosser, Richard (Marlys) Gardner, and Mary (Michael) Badeen; and four grandchildren, Holly (Steve) Elfanbaum, Cindy Owens, Lisa (Charlie) Hadley , and Tom (Nikki) Badeen. Emma was a great grandmother to Daniel (Alia Georges,) Joseph (Molly) Elfanbaum,) Samuel Elfanbaum, Elia and Chloe Mimikakis and Henry and Alice Hadley.
Emma was much loved by generations of students, members of the community and family. She leaves a rich legacy of family, faith, and service.
Funeral services will be held at the Lindley Funeral Home, Chillicothe, Missouri, on Monday, October 30, 2023, at 1:30 p.m. Visitation will be held at the Lindley Funeral Home, Chillicothe, Missouri, one hour prior to the service at 12:30 pm. Friends may call at the Lindley Funeral Home, Chillicothe, Missouri, on Monday, October 30, 2023, from 9:00 a.m. until service time. Burial will be in the Alpha Cemetery, Laredo, Missouri. Online condolences may be made at www.lindleyfuneralhomes.com .
Arrangements are under the direction of Lindley Funeral Home, Chillicothe, Missouri.