Anne Fargason Gardner

Sara Anne Fargason Gardner, widow of Robert Granville Gardner, died November 14, one day shy of her ninety-fourth birthday, in her home at Morningside Assisted Living in Macon. She had made arrangements to donate her body to Mercer University Medical School. A memorial service will be held Sunday, November 18, at 2:30 p.m. at the First Baptist Church of Christ in Macon.

Born in Henry County, Georgia, she was the daughter of Charles Campbell and Susan Etheredge Fargason. She graduated from Bessie Tift College in 1946 with a degree in English. After serving briefly as secretary at Baptist churches in Macon and Cartersville, she married Robert G. Gardner on December 18, 1947. Each year she and Bob celebrated the anniversaries of the exact date they met, the date of their engagement, and the date of their marriage. While devoting most of her time to her home and family, she worked in the libraries of Duke University and Shorter College, volunteered in the library of the Philippine Baptist Theological Seminary, volunteered in the Memorabilia Room at Shorter, provided counsel in beautifying the Shorter campus, edited all of her husband’s publications, and served as chauffeur when her husband travelled to conduct his research.

She inherited a love for flowers from her mother, enjoyed staying in touch with friends and family by email, explored all manner of subjects on the internet, kept up with local and world events through television news and the newspaper, and always had a book close by to read. Only a week prior to her death, she made a point of getting out to vote in the state elections. She worshipped with First Baptist Church of Christ in Macon by weekly DVD and kept up with prayer concerns through email and conversations with visiting deacons.

She was mother of Susan (Frank) Broome of Macon and David (Judy Kemp) Gardner of Lorane, Oregon; grandmother (Grandma) of Anna (Chad) Davis of Macon, Zachary Broome of Storrs, Connecticut, and Truitt Broome of Athens; and great-grandmother (GG’ma) to Madeline and Audrey Davis of Macon. She was preceded in death by her husband; her brother, David J. Fargason; and her sister, Margaret Fargason Askew.

The family will receive friends at the church for thirty minutes before and after the memorial service. Donations may be made to the Robert G. and Anne F. Gardner Endowed Fund for Baptist History and Research, Mercer University Library, Macon 31207.

Please visit www.hartsmort.com to sign the online guest registry. Hart's Mortuary, on Cherry Street, has charge of arrangements.

The family will receive friends at the church 30 minutes prior to the service and 30 minutes after the service.