Celebrant Pam Meily Vetter


	Celebrating Life Everyone Has A Story...

Terry Lynn Gardner was born in Artesia to Velva and Lesley Gardner in 1951. She was the youngest child in the family, raised with her siblings: Joy, Dean and Pat. Her father worked as a gardener, while her mother worked as an elementary school teacher. Both of her parents were also ministers. Terry and her siblings had a wonderful childhood. It was traditional to the times, as the family enjoyed dinner time together every evening. The family would sit down to meals as their father said the blessing at the head of the table. These years were the greatest happiness to the entire family. In fact, Terry's mother made everything magical and wonderful. On Sundays, the family went to church. Easter was an incredible holiday as the girls each had a new Easter bonnet and dress to wear, while Dean had a new little suit. There was always a grand Easter egg hunt as well. With half an acre of land in the backyard to enjoy, life included an amazing outdoor adventure. Christmas was also a wonderful, loving holiday for the family. To this day, Easter and Christmas traditions are being passed onto future generations. Terry had a unique energy and loved performing as a child. When she was young, she watched "Zorro," a Walt Disney produced television series. Terry went absolutely crazy about Zorro. She dressed up in all black with a cape and mask and acted out sword fights as the character of Zorro. She even dressed up as Zorro at Halloween for several years and her little performances made the family smile.

When Terry was 6-years-old, the family moved to Anaheim. She was a very intelligent, good student in school. Terry's father gained professional work as a singer on the radio during the 1940s and he shared his love of singing at home. With voice lessons and piano lessons, Terry developed a beautiful singing voice and her greatest love was always music. She had the ability to write music and she sang with her powerful mezzo-soprano voice. She played five instruments: guitar, violin, banjo, organ and piano. She would sing while playing the piano and it was beautiful, and she enjoyed singing at church. There were wonderful family vacations to Crystal Lake in the mountains with hiking and swimming, along with trips to San Clemente for camping. There were so many incredible memories from their childhood. For her 16th birthday, Pat handmade a full-sized burnt orange velvet cape that Terry could wear to see Liberace in Las Vegas. Dean took Terry to the main showroom at the Hilton to see Liberace perform as he was quite a showman. The cape came in handy along the way and the show was a memorable gift that Terry never forgot. A few years later, Pat made Terry an amazing sheet cake with a revolving stage and details including a candelabra and a grand piano made out of cake. She loved that cake.

Terry grew up with her nephew, Dennis, who's known as Big D. Terry and Big D hung together and went to Hollywood a lot when Terry was first learning to drive. Big D remembers she ran over a stop sign and a palm tree in her 51 Oldsmobile, and they never got caught. There were many fun times as kids. When Terry and her best friend, Nancy, both around 18-years-old, were having a water fight with Big D and his friend, Johnny, the girls thought the fight was unfair because the boys were on the roof and bombarding them with water balloons. Terry and Nancy got a hose and the boys took off and jumped down into the backyard hiding on the back side of the gate. When the boys decided to hop the gate, Terry and Nancy surprised them and soaked them with a big bucket of warm water, and everyone laughed. Terry was a great protector of all of her family. At Person Park, where the family had gone for the day, Big D and Johnny were on a teeter-totter and a young man approached them with a knife and threatened them if they didn't get off the teeter-totter. In a flash, Terry showed up and hit the man so hard that the knife flew out of his hand and he laid knocked out on the ground. A few minutes later, the police arrived and handcuffed the guy and said they had been trying to catch him, that he had been a threat to the public in the park for a while.

With a feisty nature, Terry always stood up for herself throughout her life. When she was young, a neighbor's little brother was picking on her. To stop him, she knocked him out. Her brother Dean raised her hand in the air and announced, "Ladies and gentlemen… the winner by knockout in the first round with one punch!" By the time she was in high school, there was a popular boy who was constantly harassing Terry. One day, he knocked her books out of her hands. She tightened up her lip and told him to pick up the books. She gave him a second chance and he still wouldn't pick up the books. Finally, she hit him and knocked him flat on his back in front of his girlfriend. That boy never bothered her again. When a neighbor was teasing the family dog to make the dog mean, Terry finally picked up that neighbor, who was 5'10", and threw him into a tree. He didn't tease that dog again. Later, she lifted weights and served as a protector to Pat at important times in her life. Terry asked God to deliver her and help her in controlling her temper. She learned to talk through disagreements as she overcame challenges. It was her faith in God that helped her and it was a lesson that she shared to help other people.

Earning an education was important to Terry. She graduated from a Christian high school in Bellflower and went on to earn an Associate of Arts Degree in Music from Cypress College.

Her voice became her greatest gift as she had a powerhouse of a voice. Truly, she enjoyed giving the gift of song as music was part of the holidays. Terry spent Thanksgiving at Pat's house and she spent Christmas Eve at Dean's home. She loved singing a new song for family and it was amazing when she'd hit the high notes. Throughout Terry's life, she was a good Christian girl who did what God wanted her to do. With many musical talents in life, Terry was a composer. She even published an opera. She loved the music of Arthur Rubenstein and Liberace but she also enjoyed blues, pop and operatic, and other songs by the Beatles, Mel Torme, Nat King Cole, and the Supremes. With her degree in music, she had a great appreciation for a wide range of songs. She especially knew the history of great composers and she and Dean enjoyed talking about their lives. If Terry wanted to see an entertainer in person, she made the effort. She saw Bob Hope perform at the Anaheim Convention Center and many years later, she took her father to see Red Skelton perform in the late 80s. Her father's favorite expression was "What a Scream," from Red's act and he so loved that show. Dean also took Terry to see a pianist perform in an old Hollywood mansion. The tour of the home and the performance were both memorable.

She had many favorites in life. Terry loved books as she owned a huge library of thousands of books. She was a voracious reader. Terry's favorite color was red and her favorite food was lobster. Over the years, she amassed a beautiful collection of lighthouses.

Terry had an extremely good relationship with her nieces and nephews. For some of their birthdays at the beach, Terry played guitar at the campfire and sang songs with the kids. She shared her love of science fiction with the next generation when she took Shirleen and Rick to a Star Trek convention. Terry became heavily involved in attending conventions in the early 70s and spent the next four decades as a devoted Star Trek fan. She was friendly with the stars, met most of the cast, and even had dinner with some of them. Terry assisted actor Mark Lenard at conventions, which is how she met her future roommate, Deborah Lee. They had several dinners with Mark, who portrayed Spock's father. Terry also knew Walter Koenig, who portrayed Chekov. In fact, when Terry's mother, Velva, passed away and then Deborah Lee's mother shortly thereafter, Walter invited them to the set of Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home. Walter was a gracious host. He gave Terry and Deborah a personal tour of the various sets, talked about some of the innovations, and gave them a bit of inside information about the story. They visited the Transporter Room on the Bird of Prey where Walter, as Chekov, Terry and Deborah "beamed out." Walter even took them to lunch at the Paramount Cafeteria and they watched him during the filming of one of the last scenes. It was a real treat. One night, when Terry and Deborah were having dinner with Mark at the Spaghetti Factory in Anaheim, Dean walked into the restaurant for a nice surprise. Of course, Terry introduced him to Mark. Dean often asked Terry, "Have you met the Captain yet?" Recently, Terry answered Dean by saying "Yes, I met him." In fact, she shook hands and met actor William Shatner who played Captain James T. Kirk. Over the years, she also attended other conventions, taking Pat's family to the first Superman convention and she took her great niece, Danielle, to a Dark Shadows convention. Terry saved her money and traveled to a special Star Trek convention in Florida. She often quoted the opening to Star Trek: "Space... the Final Frontier… to boldly go where no man has gone before." It was a quote that made her smile. Deborah takes solace that she took Terry to see the most recent Star Trek film. They enjoyed the movie-going experience with popcorn and sodas and Terry loved the film.

Terry loved doing impressions from Scarlet O'Hara to Woody Woodpecker and Donald Duck. She had a talent for accents and she was a true entertainer. One of Terry's favorite holidays was Halloween because it came right after her birthday. One year, she made an incredible haunted house for Rick, Todd and Shirleen's Halloween party. Pat had read a Woman's Day article about turning a yard into a carnival. They took that idea and added to it. For a few weeks, Pat brought huge boxes home from appliance stores and they painted and decorated the boxes. Terry dressed as Dracula and made a coffin where she raised up and talked like Dracula. They used dry ice for smoke and they put out a fake hand that picked up a phone. The kids got tickets for the bean bag toss and other games. Pat's mother made homemade popcorn balls as treats and everyone took part. It was quite an experience.

Terry enjoyed listening to singer Sandi Patti. When she found out that Sandi Patti was looking for a 200 person choir to back her in a performance at the Anaheim Convention Center, Terry auditioned. With her amazing voice, Terry won a spot to perform in the choir. Terry's father and Dean attended the performance and they were so proud when they spotted her on stage singing behind Sandi Patti. Years later, when Terry found out that Sandi Patti was coming to West Hollywood, Dean took Terry to the show. Afterwards, when they got her autograph, Terry met with her and Sandi remembered the show with the amazing choir.

Television and movies were an adventure, as Terry loved watching marathons that featured comedian Jerry Lewis and Alfred Hitchcock Mysteries. She enjoyed taking Dean's kids to the movies and spending time with Pat's kids. Terry also liked going to Pat's home to cook up recipes. She'd bring a Star Trek recipe, such as Moon Cookies, and bake a bunch for everyone.

Fifteen years ago, Terry moved to North Hollywood, but she always missed her home in Orange County. She'd take the train all the way to visit family and they'd pick her up. Terry had a great sense of humor and she was always smiling. Even though, there were times when she was in severe pain, she never complained. She always knew she could call her siblings for a lending hand. Professionally, Terry worked for electronics companies. Over the last two years while she was working at Duke's as an Inspector of Electronics, Terry inspected some military aircrafts. Her work was very detailed and important. When the employees worked half day before the Christmas holiday, Terry went from office to office singing songs for everyone. She'd sing "Silent Night" and "The First Noel" as part of her repertoire. Everyone was amazed at her beautiful voice.

Throughout her life, Terry's Christian beliefs in God and Heaven were strong. She and Pat became Reverends through World Christianship Ministries. Terry was a Bishop as well. They performed weddings and Terry even performed a beach wedding completely in Spanish. She did a beautiful job. She also sang at a family friend's wedding and it was so powerful, people were in tears as she hit the high notes of The Lord's Prayer. She truly had a gift in life. Terry's answering machine message closes with the words: "God bless you and have a nice day." Those words from Terry still hold true.

Terry's mother passed away in 1986 and seven years later, when Terry's father died in 1993, she wrote a special song entitled "Tell My Darling Daddy, I'll Be There." She sang the song at her father's funeral as it was a prayer to God. It was a beautiful song and Terry kept her promise as she's there with her father. In 2004, when her sister, Joy, was dying, Terry told her "If Jesus comes, go with him." Her sister passed away on Christmas Eve and Terry was the soloist at her funeral, singing "You Are My Sunshine." Terry's Christian faith was solid and now she has answered the same call from Jesus as she has gone home to rest.

Terry Gardner will best be remembered as a talented, gifted, unique lady who was happiest when she was sharing her love and songs with others. Truly, Terry was like no other, because she was so special. She loved her family, friends and her two cats, Bonnie and Clyde. She recently told her family "I want to be with Mom and Daddy again." Pat will miss her phone calls with Terry and the Christmas and holiday gatherings. Terry always had fun with the family singing karaoke and made memories at every turn. Dean will miss the talks he had with her, especially about music, composers and life. Everyone will miss the beautiful sounds of Terry singing. The family believes she is in God's choir now…

Terry was preceded in death by her parents Velva and Lesley; and sister Joy. She is loved and remembered by her brother Dean; sister Pat; nieces and nephews Dennis, Debbie, Tammy, Todd, Shirleen, and Rick; roommate Deborah Lee; extended relatives and many friends.