Lillian Agnes Dellinger Gardner passed away on May 9, 2024 at her home in McKendree Village.
She is preceded in death by her husband, Jacob Hogan Gardner; her parents, William and Hilda Schantz Dellinger; her brothers, John (Mary) Dellinger and Dick (Norma) Dellinger.
Lillian is survived by her children, MaryAnn (Andy) Gay, David (Norma) Gardner, Paul (Melanie) Gardner, Susan Gardner (Bud Alexander), and Elizabeth (Jim) May; her grandchildren, Eliot Gardner Gay, Tammy (Matt) Crane, Don (Jill) Russell, Scott Russell, Lindsey (Justin) Waugh, Shelby (Alex) Pinkston, Margaret May (Ryan) Huntley, Jacob (Jeane) May, Abbie Alexander, Corrie (Ryan) Alexander-Willette, and Gray Alexander; and great-grandchildren, Dalton and Riley Crane, Bryson and Baylor Russell, Katelyn, Hannah Grace and Everett Waugh, Maclaine and Graham Pinkston, Thomas Willette, and Harvey May. She is also survived by her sister-in-law Helen Gardner Anderson.
Lillian was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana on July 15, 1924. During the depression, her family moved to a rural home to raise animals and garden.
She graduated from Northside High School and the Fort Wayne Business College. While working as an executive secretary, she became increasingly active in the Forest Street Methodist Church Wesleyan Service Guild, along with her friend Ruth Hines. Inspired by missionaries and educators she convinced Ruth to move with her to Nashville, where she enrolled in Peabody College and Scarritt College for Christian Workers. While there, she was employed in the Scarritt Admissions Office. It was at Scarritt that she met Jacob, a student at Vanderbilt Divinity School, and they married in Fort Wayne on October 12, 1945.
Despite her plan to become a missionary, she became an itinerate preacher’s wife, not knowing that this would become her mission field. Throughout the years she was a Christian educator, mentor, homemaker, leader and member of the group that has become Women in Faith, among many other things – but never a choir member! In Tracy City and Pulaski, she was an active troop leader in Girl Scouts, carrying on the tradition of her own scouting days. In Tracy City, she worked in the office of Camp Mountain Lake.
Lillian was among the early preachers’ wives who began their own careers. During the time of integration, she became an elementary school teacher, teaching in Pulaski, Nashville, and Fayetteville. In her book, Rummagings, she wrote of her life in the context of the nation’s and world’s grappling with the issues of racism. Living in Tracy City from 1959 – 1966, where civil rights leaders were training a few miles away at the Highlander School, heightened her awareness of this racially defined time. She remained alert to justice, or lack thereof, all her life.
Her final career work brought much joy and opened many friendships. Answering Curric-u-phone at the United Methodist Publishing House allowed her to weave together her experiences in the local church Sunday School classes, her public-school educator gifts, and her devotion to the theological depth of Christian Education. People still remember her years on the back of Forecast magazine!
In 2003, Lillian and Jake moved to McKendree Village in Hermitage. She remained in the Towers, first with Jake, and then alone, until 2021, when she moved to the Manor. She loved being a part of this community through worship, United Methodist Women, her Sunday School class, her writing group, welcoming new residents, and visiting with friends everywhere. She often went to the 6th floor to play ping pong with friends and family, becoming a Senior Olympics Champion, competing down because there were not people in her 90’s age group. She wrote and published three books in retirement: Rummagings, Swords Into Plows, and A Huguenot Family in America.
A Celebration of Life will be held on Saturday, May 18, 2024 at the McKendree Village Chapel, 4347 Lebanon Pike, Hermitage, Tennessee. Visitation will be at 10 am, with the service at 11 am, followed by a light community lunch. https://www.dignitymemorial.com/obituaries/nashville-tn
Memorial contributions may be made to the : United Women in Faith, https://uwfaith.org/give/, either to a local unit or globally, or to a charity of your choice. Who is the UWF? “We’re a sisterhood acting in faith to tackle the hard work of the world without hesitation.” Acknowledgements may be sent to [email protected].
For more obituaries visit https://davidsoncountysource.com/obituaries/
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