Thomas Edward Gardner

Thomas Edward Gardner, 84, of Indianapolis, Indiana passed away peacefully on Sunday, September 15, 2024. Tom was born October 8, 1939 in Shelbyville, Indiana to the late Richard and Wilna (Woods) Gardner.

During his time at Greenfield Central High School, he was junior class president and played a variety of sports including basketball, baseball and football - where he was voted most valuable player. He later graduated from General Motors Institute (now Kettering University) and was a member of the Phi Tau Alpha fraternity. He joined General Motors Truck and Bus in Indianapolis where he worked as a mechanical engineer for 47 years.

He first married Barbara Scott and they share three sons, Randy (Justine), Jeff, and Rob (Donna) Gardner. He later married Linda Rossio and they share two daughters, Trisha Gardner and Ashley (Juston) Miller, as well as two bonus children, Jeff Flannagan and Bridget (Robert) McCash.

Tom was an avid tennis player, long-time bowler, and could fix anything and everything. Every Christmas he would make homemade puzzles where the family would race to see who could figure them out first. Many summers were spent at Bush Stadium and later Victory Field to watch the Indianapolis Indians games with his children. While Tom beamed positivity, he would occasionally point out the inconsistencies of the world with the phrase: "that's dumber than a bag of rocks." He had a dry wit and an incredibly sharp, brilliant mind. He admired all of God's creatures, especially the birds he would feed every morning and the feral neighborhood cats he would help to spay and neuter to keep the pet population down.

He spent 22 years with his partner, Barbara Hanks, who preceded him in death in addition to his brother, Don Gardner, and niece Shannon Wild.

He is survived by his children, his brother David, and his grandchildren, Tom, J.T., and Lillian.

Visitation will be on Friday, October 4, 2024, from 10:00 a.m. until 12:30 p.m. at Stillinger Family Funeral Home, 1780 West Main Street, Greenfield, IN, with the service immediately following at 12:30 p.m. Burial will follow in Park Cemetery, Greenfield, IN. If you would like to sign the online guest book or send condolences to the family, you may do so by visiting www.stillingerfamily.com