COLUMBIA — William Gardner, 76, of Whitney Road, died July 19, 2023. He was the husband of Sue (Weiss) Gardner. Born in 1947 in Putnam, he was the son of the late Earl and Theresa (Dumas) Gardner.
Bill received his master’s degree in mechanical engineering/ organizational management from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Bill worked for Pratt as a Customer Service Engineer for many years. He also worked as an engineering manager at both Bird Machine Company and Sterling Manufacturing. In addition, he was in the Air Force.
In his spare time Bill was known as a voracious reader. He loved reading about history, and all works of nonfiction. He enjoyed traveling with his wife, Sue. Some of Bill’s favorite places to visit included Easter Island, The Galapagos Islands, Newfoundland, India, and he especially enjoyed Greenland. Bill loved golfing with his friends, watching classic comedy shows such as Seinfeld and Everybody Loves Raymond, and would always catch the Red Sox and Patriots games.
Bill was truly a fun-loving person. Everybody who met him knew he had the most genuine sense of humor. While he was very serious about his career, he knew how to have fun. He had a zest for life.
He leaves his brother, Donald Gardner; sisters-in-law Katy Bousquet of Putnam (and the late Steve Bousquet), Ruth (Wally) Lee of Newtown; niece Jennifer (Matt) Bousquet-Weeks of Burlington; nephew Jeffrey (Kalin) Bousquet of Woodstock, Nicole Gardner of Columbia; three grandnephews Johnathan Weeks, Benjamin Weeks, Avery Bousquet. Bill is predeceased by brother, Bruce Gardner and sister, Leslie Gardner.
The Memorial Service was July 31 at Gilman Funeral Home and Crematory, 104 Church St., Putnam. In memory of Bill, let us take care of our environment, love and protect nature, and each other.

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