In loving memory of Jim Gardner: 1925-2026

In loving memory of James (Jim) Phillip Gardner. Jim passed away peacefully July 1, 2026, holding his granddaughter's hand at Woodland Village in Chehalis, Washington. He was 101 years old and still had all his wit and memories.

Jim was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on Feb. 27, 1925, to John David and Lola Mae Gardner. He grew up playing along the banks of the Mississippi River, where he developed a love for the water. It was no surprise that after the attack on Pearl Harbor, he wasted no time signing up for the U.S. Navy while he was still in high school; only he wasn't quite old enough just yet. The recruiter he spoke to told him to finish up the school year and then come back to see him. June came, and with the approval of his parents, Jim joined the U.S. Navy at just 17 years old.

In the Navy, Jim served as a navigator on the USS Tide, a minesweeper. His ship would travel ahead of the larger vessels in the fleet to detect mines in the ocean. On June 7, 1944, just one day after D-Day, his ship struck a mine that led to 100% casualties. Luckily, Jim was not in the navigation room at the time of the strike and therefore was catapulted into the English Channel, where he was pulled out of the water by John Bulkeley, the same person who rescued General Douglas MacArthur from Corregidor and gave President John F. Kennedy the opportunity to be a skipper on a PT boat.

Following his retirement from the Navy, Jim worked several odds-and-ends jobs, including working at Yard Birds, selling insurance, working security at the Centralia Steam Plant, and serving as a deputy for the Lewis County Sheriff's Office. With the sea always calling his name, he made his way back, working for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), traveling up and down the West Coast and working in Alaska. He also joined the Coast Guard Auxiliary for a time.

Jim leaves behind his son, Fred (Sue) Gardner; daughters, Dolly (Tom) Hughes, Connie Porter, Mary (Glenn) Fleming, and Tami (Ed) Tedder; his brothers, Robert (Bob), Roger, and Paul Gardner; and numerous grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren. At 100 years old, Jim met a late-in-life love, Karen Brown, whom he also leaves behind.

He was preceded in death by his parents, John and Lola Gardner; his former wife and the mother of his children, Violet Gardner; and his wife, Martha (Edgin) Gardner. He was also preceded in death by siblings George and John Gardner and Alvina (Gardner) Morrison; children Susie, Jim, and Glen Gardner; son-in-law Pat Porter; and grandson Daniel Tedder.

Please join us in celebrating 101 years of Jim on Sunday, Aug. 2, at the Veterans Memorial Museum for a service at 3 p.m. His and Martha's interment will be the following day, Aug. 3, at Tahoma National Cemetery at 10 a.m.

To learn more about the USS Tide, you can read The Fate of the USS Tide, written by Mark Zangara, in which he interviewed Jim.