AUBURN and Caribou – Hilda D. Gardner passed away at Androscoggin Hospice House in Auburn on Saturday, September 26, 2020. She was born on May 3, 1926, in Cyr Plantation, Maine, daughter of Omer and Marguerite (King) Dumont. She attended local schools and graduated from Madawaska Training School in Fort Kent in 1946, summa cum laude and was the class salutatorian. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Education from University of Maine Fort Kent in 1964 and was a member of the alumni. Hilda was married to Ray F. Gardner in 1950 and resided in Caribou where they raised their family. She relocated to Auburn after Ray’s passing in 1990 and was a member of Sacred Heart Church in Auburn.Over her 30 years in education, Hilda taught at area schools in Northern Aroostook County teaching primary grades and reading. Her last job was for the State Department of Education as a Remedial Reading Teacher at the Connor and Sinclair schools. In her retirement, Hilda also volunteered to teach adults how to read for Caribou Adult Education.Hilda’s love for learning and reading started at an early age when she met the teacher from the one-room schoolhouse down the dirt farm road. She was in awe of her and begged to go to school before she was old enough, to which the teacher allowed her. Later she found a way to go to college to become a teacher, the first in her family in those hard times. Many times, her older sisters sent her some of the few dollars they earned to help her pay for college. Words, reading, and learning were her passions in life and she was great at it. One of her adult students told a friend who was struggling to learn how to read, “Go to Mrs. Gardner, she’ll teach you,” and she did. Hilda spent her final five years at The Chapman House in Auburn, where she made many friends with staff and residents. She enjoyed her weekly games of scrabble with Anne, doing her crossword puzzles, and short walks in the courtyard. She called it home.She is survived by a son, Jeff and wife Erika of Germany and Cumberland, Maine; three daughters: Raelene and husband Bill Bartholomew of Portland, Sue and husband Dr. Allan Ingraham of Auburn, and Margo Weeks of New Hampshire; her grandson Nathaniel of New Hampshire and her granddaughter Kendall and husband Kevin Burns of Limington, Maine; a sister, Pauline Daigle of New Hampshire; three brothers, Lorn Dumont of Falls Church, Va., Wil (Yolande) Dumont of Naples, Fla., and Raymond (Jeanine) of Windsor, Conn.; sister-in-law, Edwina Dumont; and many nieces and nephews. She was predeceased by her husband, Ray F. Gardner; sisters, Jeanette (Frank), Lillian (Raymond), Gertrude (Maurice), and Gerry (Bill, Jim); brothers, Pete (Iris), Armand, Gerard (Carole), and Claude; sister-in-law, Leola Dumont and brother-in-law, Reed Daigle.A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at Sacred Heart Church Auburn on Friday Oct 2 at 11 a.m., for immediate family only, due to COVID guidelines. A Celebration of Life will be held at a future date when restrictions are lifted. Burial will be in The Northern Maine Veterans’ Cemetery in Caribou at a later date. Arrangements are under the care and direction of The Fortin Group 217 Turner St. Auburn. Please visit thefortingroupauburn.com to leave heartfelt condolences to Hilda’s Family and friends.Condolences can be expressed with donations to The American Heart Association, The National Kidney Foundation, or Hope Haven in Lewiston, Maine.

Copy the Story Link