Richard Taylor Gardner passed away peacefully the evening of August 10, 2011 at Ozark Riverview Manor. After 100 years of life, he was ready to go home to his Lord and Savior, beloved wife Martha and daughter Jane Catharine. If you could ask him the cause of death, his quick wit would answer with a grin "too many candles." Richard (Dick) Gardner was born in Springfield, Missouri on November 21, 1910, the youngest son of Taylor K. and Dixie Hampton Gardner. He called Springfield his home until 2002 when he moved to Ozark, MO. He was graduated from Greenwood High School in 1927 and Drury College in 1931. He was a member of Theta Kappa Nu fraternity (now Lambda Chi Alpha). He later received a degree from S.M.S. in 1933. In June, 1937 he was married to Martha Lea Hayes, who preceded him in death in 1982. He has been a member of South Street Christian Church in Springfield since his baptism on Easter Sunday, 1920. Since moving to Ozark, he has held dual membership in the Ozark Christian Church. At South Street, he served in almost every position of leadership during his life, including Church School, Choir, Official Board, and Parish Visitor. After a brief teaching career, he became one of the first employees of the new Frisco Transportation Company. He later transferred to the Freight Claims Department of the Frisco Railroad where he retired in 1975. Much of his life was devoted to a generous practicing of avocational interests: history, creative writing, and music. He and his wife Martha were avid genealogists. In 1984, he published a history of Springfield's First Christian Church that was founded in 1834. As the result of an evening class at S.M.S. he began his own Memoirs in 1986, and this work, which he called My Trophies, has been donated to the Duane Meyer Library Archives at Missouri State University. He was a frequent contributor to Springfield! Magazine, with accounts of his own experiences, such as the Springfield Boy Scout Band in which he played for eight years, and a history of Greenwood School, where he was enrolled in the first grade during the first ten years of the school's life. In his later years, he continued musical endeavors such as SPEBSQSA, as a member of the Fourtissimos Quartet, as well as several local TV shows. During WWII, he was a member of the Missouri State Guard Band. He also participated in several Little Theatre productions with his favorite being 1776. He sang in church choirs his entire adult life, actually directing the Woodland Heights Church Choir for 13 years. He volunteered with Meals on Wheels for many years and also served on the Board of the Drury School of the Bible for several years. In 1996, he received the Outstanding Friend of Greenwood Award from G.H.S. Alumni Association. Mr. Gardner is survived by his son Rick and wife Pam of Ozark, MO, their two daughters and their families: Beth and Chris Bramstedt, sons Brandon and Chandler of Columbia, MO, Sarah and Ronnie Shivler, daughters Emma and Addison of Ozark, MO his "adopted daughter" Ann T. Reed of Raytown, MO, and a special nephew and niece, Don and Loretta Gardner also of Ozark, MO. Besides his parents and wife, he was preceded in death by his daughter Cathy Gardner in 2006 and his brother, Allen Gardner , in 1981. According to his wishes, Richard has been cremated. Memorial services will be held at South Street Christian Church in Springfield on August 13, 2011 at 3:00 p.m. with The Reverend David Massey-Brown and The Reverend Janet Given officiating. Visitation will be held prior to the service from 2:00 p.m. until 3:00 p.m. Interment will be in Hazelwood Cemetery under the direction of Gorman-Scharpf Brentwood Chapel at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to the Martha Gardner Memorial Scholarship at Drury University or any church or charity of the donor's choice.