Judy was a faithful, loving wife and mother to her family. Survived by her husband of thirty years, Kevin Gardner. She is also survived by four beautiful daughters, Autumn (24), Keleyann (21)-soon to be married to future son in law, Jon Gordon, Brookelyn (18), and Natalee (16). She was preceded in death by Hope Elizabeth in 2016.
Judy was first and foremost a devout follower of Christ Jesus. Every facet of her life was carefully patterned after the teachings of God’s Holy Bible. She was a faithful member of Whitesboro Baptist Church, Lindsay Lane Baptist Church, Trussville First Baptist Church and most recently Calvary Chapel Navarre. She served as a Sunday School teacher, AWANA director, Student Ministry leader, Kid’s Ministry leader, Church administration, Drama teams, Connect Group Leader, and the Invitation prayer team (probably her favorite way to serve) just to name a few.
After graduating from East Tennessee State University with a bachelor’s degree in business management, Judy began her career in the business world as an operations manager and then later as a revenue officer. During this time, her family moved to Athens, Alabama, where all five of her girls would be born and raised. Several years after juggling family life and her career, God called her to her most unexpected career and later one of her greatest accomplishments of being a Homeschool teacher for her daughters. Judy would serve as the Homeschool teacher for our girls for the next 16 years. We were actively involved in homeschool groups while in Athens, Trussville, Pensacola, and Navarre. She made countless deep connections with so many families during these years, always encouraging them to follow God’s calling for their individual journey.
One of her greatest joys in this life was family vacations, which included many trips to the Gulf Coast, Smoky Mountains, Texas, Grand Canyon, Washington DC, Universal Studios Rock the Universe, Bahama cruises and of course countless trips to Disney World. She also always made wedding anniversary trips a priority, the most memorable were Italy, Charleston, SC, Cancun Mexico, and Granbury Lake, TX. She really did have a passion for travel and her advice to you would be, “Take the trip”.
Judy’s other interests were mainly spending time with family, particularly her girls. It takes time and effort to mold and shape a life and she spent most of her time doing just that. She loved to play board games, backyard basketball, ski ball, and she was almost unbeatable at card games, especially Rummi. She loved boat rides, beach sunrise and sunsets; usually with her Bible in hand, going to Christian movies, unique restaurants, live Jazz music, a great novel, and she loved to throw a great party; even more she loved having a party thrown for her. She was a great cook and oh how she loved chocolate (good chocolate that is). She was quite an artistic painter, and she could express herself beautifully with her words. She was terrified of possums, but seeing a dolphin would put the biggest smile on her face. She thought butterflies were some of God’s most precious creations. She was the most beautiful person in the room inside and out and most of the time she didn’t even realize it. She was humble, kind and so sweet, but she was also fierce and strong. If she prayed for you then rest assured God heard that prayer. She was a warrior and the best friend you could ever hope for. She was full of wisdom, grace, loved others deeply, gave of herself generously, always took care of her family first, shared the Good News often, and exemplified what it looks like to be a follower of Christ. She gave the best advice to anyone who would ask her, and she is truly irreplaceable in our family.
Visitation will be Thursday November 21,2024 from 12:00 -1:50 P.M. at McConnell Funeral Home. Funeral Service will follow at 2:00 P.M. at McConnell Memorial Chapel.
Burial will be in Roselawn Cemetery.
