Golden Gardiner 1922 - 2016

Hope Gardiner from the 1980s:  Golden Frederick Gardiner, second son of Frederick Gardiner and Hope Hulet, was born February 18, 1923 at Peterson, Morgan County, Utah. He grew up and attended grade and high school in Malta, Idaho. He served a year in the U.S. Navy then received a degree in Civil Engineering from Utah State in 1949.

He served a mission in the Eastern States from 1949 to 1951. He met Barbara Ehlers who served in the same mission, and they were married 31 October 1952 in the Salt Lake Temple.

He taught school and farmed in Idaho for five years, then went to the University of Utah for a master's degree in Science Education and taught one year in Long Beach City College. He then returned to Malta to work for the Raft River Electric Co-op where he is now manager.

Bradford Golden filled a mission in Venezuela and is now attending BYU. He married Susan Okelberry on 8 December 1978. Ginger has attended BYU and served a mission in Florida. Nathan has attended BYU and served a mission to Argentina. Corby has attended BYU and served a mission to Belgium. Mathew is now attending B.Y.U. - He loves motor bikes. Anne. Spence. Sammy Evenson is their Lamanite son.

Barbara is past Relief Society President and now works with the Webelo Scouts.  Golden is now on the Stake High Council after recently serving as a bishop's counselor.

Early Photos
Funeral Photos
Funeral Stories

1949 Utah State University Buzzer yearbook:

Close up of photo above: 

1920 Watt meter award given to Golden 

For years I have shared the story (miracle) of how we raised money for our church building in Malta by selling jackrabbits. I think sometimes people haven't believed me so I found the attached newspaper article to add a little credibility to the story. I remember as a very small boy seeing a cloud of dust rise up on the south of our farm that bordered a large field of sagebrush. The dust came from the many jackrabbits that would move in from the desert to feed on our alfalfa fields in the evening. Dad would drive the tractor out in the field and shoot rabbits until it was too dark to see. I had no idea then that those rabbits would someday be a blessing to us. I saw haystacks tip over and fields mowed down when the rabbit population exploded -- which it seemed to do regularly.

Our bishop asked the members of the Malta Ward to give money for the construction of a new church building in Malta. There were bazaars and other fundraisers that seemed to go on for years. As a deacon I can remember seeing a poster in the old church building that resembled a thermometer. The goal was at the top of the thermometer and as funds came in someone would color in the thermometer with red ink. I remember being in priesthood meeting and the bishop telling us how much money we still needed to build our new church building -- to me it seemed like an impossible undertaking. The Lord knew we didn't have a lot of money in that small town but he knew we had a lot of jackrabbits. It was during this time that I went out in the sagebrush south of our farm and participated in a fundraising rabbit drive. Someone had blanketed two perpendicular barbed wire fences southwest of dad's farm with chicken wire. It created a right-angled backstop that would keep anything larger than a mouse from being able to penetrate. Many members of the ward and even those townspeople who were not of our faith participated. We started south of dad's farm and headed north trying to scare the rabbits as we marched towards the corner where the chicken wire had been placed. As we approached the corner the ground seemed to be moving in front of us. Rabbits were everywhere. We grabbed them and put them in burlap bags. The rabbits were then shipped to Italy for small game hunting. We not only got rid of a lot of pesky rabbits but thousands of dollars were raised to help build our new church building. The Lord works in mysterious ways.

Years later, after serving a mission, I remember walking through the house while the evening news was on TV. The news anchor was reporting on how the jackrabbit population had exploded in Italy. CG

All, Just wanted to let you know that we think Dad will soon be joining Mom. Dad's health has been terrible the past month or so. He hasn't been eating and has been in a lot of pain.  Home hospice has been called now so he is receiving help for his pain. 

Dara and Spence have somehow managed to care for Dad through thick and thin. Dad is tough.  He has refused a walker and wheelchair.  Spence said when he told him that he needed a wheelchair he just stepped that much higher. It has been a blessing for him to stay in his home. With all this Dara's parents were both recently hospitalized and her father was just diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. 

We are fasting tomorrow that Dad will be able to continue to endure well to the end and if it is the Lord's will to be able to go home soon.  The knowledge of the sweet reunion that awaits him with his parents, brothers and sisters, wife and daughter brings us great comfort at this time. Love, C

December 4, 2016 about 1:00 pm Golden passed away.

Golden Gardiner
Address:
  1750 S Highway 81
  Malta,
  83342-8744

Golden lived:
93 years 9 months 16 days
or 1125 months 16 days
or 4894 weeks 0 days
or 34,258 days
or 822,192 hours
or 49,331,520 minutes
or 2,959,891,200 seconds

 

Golden F. Gardiner

Feb. 18, 1923 - Dec. 4, 2016

Date of Service: Dec. 17, 2016

Golden Frederick Gardiner Obituary

MALTA – Golden Frederick Gardiner, 93, of Malta, passed away peacefully at his home on Sunday, Dec. 4, 2016.

He was born February 18, 1923 in Peterson, Utah, the son of Hope Hulet and Frederick Gardiner. He graduated from Raft River High School in 1940 and attended Utah State Agricultural College before being inducted into military service where he served in the U.S. Navy. He was stationed on Treasure Island when the war ended in 1945. In 1949, he graduated with a degree in Civil Engineering from Utah State Agricultural College. After graduating he worked for the U.S. Geological Survey Surface Water Division in Salt Lake City, Utah for a few months until he was called to serve a mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in the Eastern States Mission. The highlight of his missionary service was helping with the Hill Cumorah Pageant in New York. It was there that he headed up the work crew and where he first met his future wife Barbara J. Ehlers. They were married October 31, 1952, in the Salt Lake LDS Temple and would later serve three full-time missions together for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 

After marriage Golden taught school in Malta and Declo before attending graduate school at the University of Utah where he received a Master’s Degree in Science Education in 1961. He later taught in the Engineering Department at Long Beach City College in Long Beach, California. After a year at Long Beach he moved back to Malta where he started farming and working for the Raft River Rural Electric Co-op, where he retired in 1991.

Golden was a kind and gentle husband and father. He was compassionate towards those in need. He lived a life of honesty and hard work and would often point out those same qualities in others. He had a serenity about him and always knew what mattered most to his Heavenly Father. He always put his wife and children first. He seemed to always be too busy for hobbies but when he did have a spare minute he loved to work with horses.

Golden was preceded in his death by his parents; brothers, Robert and J.H. Gardiner; sisters, Mary Gardiner, Margaret Ottley, and Dawn James; his wife Barbara; daughter, Cathy Goff; and son-in-law, Brent Goff. 

He is survived by seven of his eight children, Brad (Susan) Gardiner of Pocatello, Ginger (Malin) Moench of Falls Church, Virginia, Nathan (Shanna) Gardiner of Meridian, Corby (Missy) Gardiner of Mesa, Arizona, Matthew (Marie Jeanne) Gardiner of St. George, Utah, Anne (Jed) Francis of Logan, Utah, and Spence (Dara) Gardiner of Malta; 44 grandchildren; and 37 great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister, Gloria (Dean) Ottley, of Quincy, Wash., and his brother, Frank (Lillian) Gardiner of Provo, Utah.

The funeral will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 17, at the Malta LDS Church, 280 N. 1st St. W., in Malta, with Bishop Richard Hall officiating, military honors will be provided by the Mini-Cassia Veterans Organization. Friends may call from 9:30 until 10:45 a.m. preceding the service at the church. Burial will follow at the Valley Vu Cemetery.

Arrangements have been entrusted to the care of the Rasmussen Funeral Home of Burley.

Valley Vu Cemetery:

  

Research

We found a picture of Mom as a missionary (she had shared it with Dad) and some letters that Mom had written Dad before they married (I'm so glad they are together again).  There were a lot of letters from Elder George Q. Morris written to Dad.  He was Dad and Mom's mission president.  We didn't realize what a huge responsibility Dad had directing the work crew for the Hill Cumorah Pageant.   He had to go to lumber yards and borrow planks to set up the seating in those days among many other responsibilities. Mom was a cook for the work crew so that is where it all began. I also found out that Elder Morris and his wife knew my Mom's grandmother in Europe and had spent time in her home in Germany (her grandmother spoke fluent French, German, and Arabic). 

Dad told me once that it was time for the pageant to start and Elder Morris was supposed to greet the audience.  Dad said he looked frantically for him and eventually found him in his car listening to the world series.

Frank and Gloria both independently identified the mystery couple as Roger Neddo and his sister Annel.  Dad entered the Navy with Roger and they ended up getting called to the same mission. After Mom's funeral, Roger Neddo Jr. told me how Dad and Roger Sr. went to Pocatello, Idaho to report for duty and the military people had been complaining about how unfit the men had been.  When they saw Roger and Dad and they said "this is what we are looking for".  Dad and Roger were always very close.  We were good friends with Roger's children as well.

The adorable little girl with the bonnet and "Brownie" the dog at her feet is Gloria.  She said she had just finished tromping hay when the picture was taken.   Gloria thought the girl leading the steer was Margaret.  I just assume your Mom is the second tallest girl in all the pictures with the little girls.  That certainly looks like your Mom to me with her hands on Frank's shoulders.  So grateful for our wonderful heritage.

Say hi to Scott -- I love his recent articles!

C

Frank