Walter Danforth Gardner III

Walter Danforth Gardner III, known to family and friends as Shookie and to his grandchildren as Papa, peacefully passed away on February 3 at 63 years old. His spirit will be carried on by his children, Elisabeth and Zachary. As well as their spouses and children; Jacob, Rebecca, Carter, Jaxson, Lincoln, Eloise and Milo. He also leaves behind his siblings, Jeannie, Buffy, and Mikie, as well as many, many loved ones and friends. After being born and raised by Bertha (Parker) and Walter Gardner Jr, in Narragansett, RI. He spent 8years serving in the Marine Corps before starting a family. The last 20 years he lived in Henderson, NV where he made many friends and memories. He loved his career at the Las Vegas Valley Water District where he won employee of the year before retiring in 2020. In the presentation of the award it was said he “was one of the hardest working employees to ever work for the water district”. The Bi-annual tree planting event was one of his favorite times along with the toys for tots drive with the Marine Riders. He moved back to the east coast in 2021 to be with his children and grandchildren while undergoing cancer treatment. He will forever be remembered as a great friend who tried to make everyone smile. We would like to thank the many teams at Hartford Hospital who cared for him as well as the oncology team at the Helen and Harry Grey Cancer Center… or as Walter called it, “Helen’s House”. He remained optimistic and positive throughout his entire treatment, the employees at the cancer center truly made a terrible situation the best it could be for him. Even in the days before he passed the nurses and aides were commenting that he always tried to make them laugh and make the day enjoyable. A celebration of life will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation on Walters behalf to the Las Vegas Marine Roders https://www.themarineriders.com Or the Helen and Harry Gray cancer Center https://giving.harthosp.org/donate (choose the cancer center from the drop down)