John J. Gardner (John Jr.) was born on a ranch in Western Oklahoma, near the town of Quinlan,  on November 19, 1914.   Gardner was the fifth of ten children born to John Andrew and Mary Elizabeth (Mullins) Gardner.  He had four brothers and five sisters.  His parents were early pioneers who homesteaded their ranch and later became well known for introducing the first Horned Hereford cattle into the region (Thank  you to Uncle Bob & Aunt Char for that history lesson!). 

Gardner graduated from Oklahoma A & M (Oklahoma State University) in 1936 with a degree in Animal Husbandry and with a commission in the US Army. He entered active duty on October 29, 1941 as an Infantry Unit Commander. He attended Infantry School at Fort Benning, Ga.  He received his orders for overseas duty & departed for India on Sept 9, 1943 aboard the USS Mariposa & arrived in Bombay on Nov 16, 1943.

Major Gardner served as a Liaison Officer in China, as well as an Infantry Commander in Northern Burma where he met hostile enemy fire at The Battle of Myitkyina .  After the Japanese Surrender, he was sent to Nanking, capital city of China at that time.  He continued to serve as a Liaison Officer in the Chinese New 6th Army.  At the request of General Ho Ying-Chin, General & Supreme Commander of the Chinese New 6th Army, he attended the Japanese surrender proceedings in the Auditorium of the Central Military Academy in Nanking, China on Sept 9, 1945.   He returned to the United States in Nov 1945 where he was promoted to Lt. Colonel at Fort Chaffee, Ark.  He separated from active duty on April 2, 1946.

Gardner lived a full and active life. He was elected for three  consecutive terms as Mayor of Newkirk, Oklahoma from 1960 through 1969.   He was active in the Boy Scouts of America, receiving the Silver Beaver Award from the Will Rogers Council.   He was an active Rotarian, being inducted as a Paul Harris Fellow.    Gardner was 32nd Degree Mason and a member of the Shriner's Akdar Temple.   Gardner was a member of the American Rose Society and became an expert Rosarian winning several competitions.  Gardner served on the Board of Directors of the Salvation Army and the Opportunity Center for Retarded Children in Ponca City, Oklahoma.

Gardner was a mortgage banker for more than thirty-five years, retiring in 1985 as President of the Albright Title & Trust Company.  He also served on the Board of Directors of the Pioneer Bank and Trust from 1965 until his death. He was an Elder in the First Christian Church, Disciples of Christ.

Gardner enjoyed hunting game birds and training bird dogs.  He was an avid golfer and was a member of the Ponca City Country Club.  Most of all, he was a family man.   Married to Verlee (Carpenter) Gardner for forty-five years, he and Verlee raised three children,  John J. Gardner, Ann Gardner Grassfield, & Samuel Neal Gardner.  John J. Gardner died on November 24, 1986.