It is with a heavy heart that I pass on the news that one of our former committee chairs has died.
Dan Gardner served on the troop committee and as committee chair in the 1990′s. He also served as a merit badge counselor and Cubmaster of Pack 6. Mr. Gardner’s sons Stephen and Andrew are among Troop 5′s Eagle Scouts.
Funeral Services will be held Tuesday, August 25th at 10 am at the Middlebury Congregational Church.
Daniel T. Gardner
Retired police officer
SOUTHBURY — Daniel Thomas Gardner, age 62, a longtime Middlebury resident, husband of Linda (Thyren) Gardner, died Thursday, Aug. 20, 2009, at Waterbury Hospital surrounded by his family.
Mr. Gardner was born in Waterbury on March 5, 1947, son of the late Harold and Dorothy (Nelson) Gardner. He resided in Southbury for the past nine years. He retired from the Town of Middlebury, serving as a police officer for 18 years. During this time, he was the town’s first youth officer and he also served as detective. Daniel founded the YAC (Youth Action Committee), which then led to the founding of the Middlebury-Southbury Youth Council. Prior to his service as an officer, he volunteered for the Middlebury Fire Department and was employed by the Town of Middlebury.
Mr. Gardner was an active member of the Middlebury Congregational Church. He was a member of the choir, deaconate, search committee and assisted with Pilgrim Fellowship. He was actively involved in singing with the Connecticut Choral Society from 1991-1999 and the Connecticut Master Chorale from 1999-2008. He was president of the Connecticut School Transportation Association (COSTA), and he was a master safety instructor for the State of Connecticut.
Daniel served on the Drug Advisory Board for the State of Connecticut, appointed by Governor Ella Grasso. He assisted with the Boy Scout Troop 5 in Middlebury, serving as Cubmaster, committee chairman and merit badge counselor. He coached baseball and basketball for his children. He was a veteran of the U.S. Air Force.
Daniel enjoyed helping others, and he always wanted to be a part of something bigger than himself. He was a 12-year survivor of renal cell carcinoma and 4 -year survivor of a stem cell transplant study conducted by the National Institutes of Health. The most important thing to him was his family and spending time with them.
Besides his wife of 39 years, he leaves two sons, Stephen D. Gardner and his wife, Lara, of Shelton and Andrew J. Gardner and his wife, Stephanie, of Farmington; one daughter, Holly G. Smith and her husband, Joshua, of Southington; two brothers, David J. Gardner and his wife, Maryann, of Wolcott andRobert P. Gardner of Southington; three grandsons, Benjamin, Nicholas and Harrison; several nieces and nephews and his devoted dog, Riley. He was predeceased by a brother, Harold N. Gardner.
Funeral services will be held on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at the Middlebury Congregational Church, 1234 Whittemore Road, Middlebury. Friends are asked to gather directly at the church at 9:45 a.m. Burial with military honors will follow in Lake Elise Cemetery. Calling hours will be held at the Fitzgerald-Zembruski Funeral Home, 240 North Main St., Naugatuck, on Monday evening from 5 to 8 p.m.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, BLDG 31 Rm 5-5852, 10 Center Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892. Checks can be made out to NHLBI/Dr. Childs Kidney Cancer Research, in memory of Daniel T. Gardner
Dear Troop 5,
Hi all,
Hello Troop 5:
There will be a Patrol Leaders’ Council meeting this Sunday, August 30, at 6:30 pm at the church.
School starts next week, and with all the commotion and excitement that brings, don’t forget that a new Scouting year is beginning as well.