George F. Gardner III, 69

DOVER - George F. Gardner III, of Dover, died Monday, Feb. 4, 2008, at home. He was 69.

Mr. Gardner was born in Wilmington on Oct. 12, 1938, son of the late George Gardner and Emma (Ralph) Gardner.

He grew up in the Wilmington area.

Mr. Gardner was a 1956 graduate of Conrad High School and was a three-sport athlete, playing basketball, baseball and track, which were interests and activities which he pursued all his life.

Following graduation from Conrad High School, he attended Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa. While at Dickinson, Mr. Gardner played basketball and ran track and was an officer in the Varsity Letterman's Club. He was also a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity.

Mr. Gardner graduated from Dickinson College in 1960 and at that time was commissioned a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army.

He graduated from George Washington University Law School in June 1963 and that same year took and passed bar examinations in the state of Delaware and the District of Columbia. While in law school, he was a member of Phi Delta Theta.

After being admitted to the Delaware Bar on Dec. 30, 1963, Mr. Gardner served 39 months initially as an infantry first lieutenant and later as a captain in the Judge Advocate General Corps.

Upon leaving the military, he returned to Delaware, where he continuously practiced law from March 1967 until the time of his death, most recently for more than 20 years with the firm of Parkowski, Guerke & Swayze.

Mr. Gardner was a member of the American Bar Association and the Delaware State Bar Association and practiced law in all Delaware state courts, the U.S. District for the District of Delaware, and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.

He was a member of the Bar of the U.S. Supreme Court.

Over the years of his law practice, Mr. Gardner specialized in large commercial real estate transactions and in land use activities.

During the early years of his practice, he was a member of the Public Defender's Office and a member of the City of Wilmington City Solicitor's Office.

He was involved in connection with many of the largest subdivisions in Kent County and Sussex County and was a member of the original Growth Zone Committee for the Kent County Levy Court and the Transfer of Development Rights Committee.

During a brief period of his career, Mr. Gardner engaged in development activities and, along with his partners, developed or finished the development of three manufactured housing communities.

He was chairman of the Real Estate and Personal Property Section of the Delaware State Bar Association for a number of years and since 1983 had been a member of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers.

Mr. Gardner is survived by his wife, Ann, to whom he had been married for 41 years; two daughters, Elizabeth Ann Gardner of Dover and Susan J. Gardner of Los Angeles, Calif.; his sister, Betty Lou Williamson and her husband Charles of Augusta, Ga.; a niece, Judy Skeel of Atlanta; and two nephews, David Skeel of Ambler, Pa., and Michael Skeel of Chimachum, Wash.

Active his entire life, Mr. Gardner was looking forward to golf, fishing and attending many sports events with his lifelong best friend, Paul H. Boswell, and other close friends.

Burial will be private.

A memorial service will be announced at a later date.

Instead of flowers, the family suggests that donations in Mr. Gardner's memory be made to Delaware Hospice, 911 Lotus Plaza, Dover, DE 19901.

Letters of condolence may be sent and guestbook signed at www.torbertfuneral.com.

Arrangements by Torbert Funeral Chapel, Dover.