LEWISTON – Kenneth R. Gardner, 77, of Blueberry Drive, Hartford, and longtime former Windham resident, died on June 12, at a Lewiston health care facility.

Born in Portsmouth, N.H., on Feb. 12, 1931, he was the son of the late Charles U. and Blanche (Wright) Gardner. Raised in Kittery Point, his education began in the Kittery school system where he was a 1948 graduate of Traip Academy.

After high school, Mr. Gardner earned his B.S. degree in 1952 from the former Gorham State Teachers College, and in 1972, graduated from the University of Maine with a master’s degree in education.

On Christmas Eve, 1952, Ken married Mona J. Orr, in Bingham, where Ken was a teacher at Bingham High School. Soon after that, the family relocated to Windham, where they raised their two children.

Mr. Gardner was the industrial arts teacher at Windham High School for 28 years, and retired from there because of declining health. He was also the adult education director in Windham for two years. In 1992, after his retirement, Ken and his wife, Mona, moved to Hartford, where they spent summers and falls, and winters in Myrtle Beach, S.C.

Ken’s professional associations were many, and they included the Maine Teachers Association and the National Education Association; he was a member and past president of the Maine Vocational Association, as well as a member and past president of the Maine Association of Industrial Education and a member of the Windham Education Association.

Mr. Gardner was also a member and Past Master of the Presumpscot Lodge of Masons No. 127, the Evangeline Chapter of the Order of the Eastern Star, the Scotish Rite Bodies of the Valley of Portland, the Eagle Chapter York Rite of Maine and the Kora Temple Shrine of Lewiston.

He was a Degree Master of the Kora Kraftsman Club, a member of the Lake Region Shrine Club and a charter member of the Western Region Shrine Club. Ken was also chairman of the Ambassador of the Grand Lodge of Maine. He was a former member of the Windham Fire Department as well as a former member of the Windham Kiwanis Club.

An accomplished carpenter and master cabinet maker, Ken loved his shop and his tools. His influence could be seen in many Windham area homes. A big part of Ken’s life was his camp in Oquossoc. He was an avid hunter and fisherman and knew the ponds, rivers, streams and back roads of the Rangeley and Oquossoc area like the back of his hand. He enjoyed traveling and took his children around the country as they were growing up. He possessed a fantastic Maine dry sense of humor and always had a positive outlook on life.

Ken was a devoted husband, father and grandfather. He enjoyed spending all the time that he could with his family and he truly loved and enjoyed kids. He loved his cat, Bubby, and all the cats he’s had over the years.

Survivors include his wife of 55 years, Mona J. Gardner, of Hartford; one son, Mark R. Gardner and his wife, Judi, of Kittery; one daughter, June B. Conley and her husband, Daniel, of Gray; eight grandchildren, Melinda Fulton and her husband, Chris, Mark K. Gardner, Jennifer A. Bauer-Conley, Nahum M. Ronfeldt and his wife, Sarah, Andrea P. Hutchinson, Sarah J. Bauer-Conley, Gregory A. Hutchinson, and Saul E. Gardner; seven great-grandchildren; a sister-in-law, Llona M. Gardner, of Kittery Point; two brothers-in-law, Harley E. Orr of Moscow, and Edgar Fortin of Bingham; and many nieces and nephews.

He was predeceased by a brother, Robert M. Gardner.