Cover photo for Marilyn Joyce Gardner's Obituary
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1932 Marilyn 2013

Marilyn Joyce Gardner

May 18, 1932 — September 28, 2013

Marilyn Joyce Hilsenhoff Gardner, formerly of Waukesha, Wis., passed away Saturday, September 28, 2013 in Pewaukee, Wis. She was 81 years old.

Joyce was born in Monmouth, Ill., on May 18, 1932 to Leslie “Chi” and Greta McKelvie Hilsenhoff. She was the second of four daughters. Joyce was raised in Monmouth and attended the public schools there.

She attended Monmouth College for two years and was a member of the Pi Beta Phi sorority. Joyce also worked as a branch librarian at the Warren County Library.

She married Willis Warren Gardner, also of Monmouth, on June 5, 1953. Joyce had met Willis in high school Latin class, where they became acquainted because the teacher had seated the students alphabetically, by last name.

Joyce was devoted to her family, moving from West Allis, Wis. to Stuttgart, Germany to New Berlin, Wis. to Des Plaines, Ill. and finally to Waukesha, Wis. in support of her husband’s career. She was keenly interested in her children’s education and instilled in them a life-long appreciation for history and the written word.

Joyce was an avid reader and amateur genealogist.

She was a member of the First United Methodist Church in Waukesha for 44 years and taught Sunday school there and in previous church homes.

Joyce was a devoted mother and grandmother and her kind, sweet and generous spirit was known to many.

She is survived by her beloved husband, Willis; her two children, Charles, Waukesha,, (Patricia Sandrock) and Sarah, Culver City, Calif. (James Bowie); a sister, Nancy Schwiebert, San Jose, Calif., and her cherished grandchildren, John, Nora, Julia and Eli. She was preceded in death by her elder sister, Carol Basinger of Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and her youngest sister Judith Neal of Sun Lakes, Ariz.

Visitation will be held on Saturday, October 12, 2013 from 9:30AM until the time of the 10:30AM memorial service at the chapel of Shorehaven in Oconomowoc, Wis., 1305 W. Wisconsin Ave. Chaplain Mark Rydberg will preside.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made online to the Alzheimer’s Association at www.alz.org or by mail to 620 South 76th Street, Suite 160, Milwaukee, WI 53214. Donations can also be made to Waukesha Public Library, Children's Book Room at 321 Wisconsin Avenue, Waukesha, Wisconsin 53186

Randle-Dable-Brisk Funeral, Cremation and Preplanning Services is honored to serve the family. For further information, please call the funeral home at 262-547-4035 or visit our website at www.waukeshafunerals.com for directions or to leave the family an online tribute message.
To order memorial trees or send flowers to the family in memory of Marilyn Joyce Gardner, please visit our flower store.

Service Schedule

Past Services

Visitation

Saturday, October 12, 2013

9:30 - 10:30 am (Central time)

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Burial

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