Irene Sassas Gardner

IRENE LOIS GARDNER

June 3, 1931 - October 29, 2021

Irene Lois Gardner, a Boca Raton resident from 1963 until 2007, died peacefully of natural causes on October 29, 2021, in Fernandina Beach, Florida.

Known to all who encountered her as a steadfast wife, loving mother, doting grandmother, and loyal friend and colleague, Irene was the daughter of Greek immigrants from the island of Chios.  A graduate of Ohio State University, she was a certified medical technician who worked for many years at what was then called the Boca Raton Community Hospital.  She was the wife of Frederick Harold Gardner, who was the original Director of Physical Plant for Florida Atlantic University from his appointment to that position in 1962 until his untimely death in 1986.

Widowed at only 54 years of age, Irene never re-married.  This - according to her children - because she was awfully picky and apparently didn’t want to accept the fact that Paul Newman and Sean Connery were already taken. 

Nevertheless, Irene lived a full life as a widow for more than 4 decades, focusing on her children and grandchildren, continuing to work for the hospital until her retirement in 1995, and forging lasting relationships with close friends with whom she traveled the world.  

Irene loved to compete.  Whether it was a crossword puzzle, board games, table tennis, or tennis itself – the game she loved the most – Irene had an infectious will to win.  So it is not surprising to her loved ones that she fought so hard in her waning years against the gradual loss of her memory, a fight cruelly compromised by isolation during the pandemic.  After all, she already was the proud survivor of  three bouts with breast cancer. 

Now the fights are over and she is at peace.  Irene is survived by her three children, Lewis, Carol and Beth; her son-in-law Tran and daughter-in-law Julie; and her grandchildren Mars, James Louis, Rebecca, Dylan and Elias.

A memorial service for family and friends will be held at the Boca Raton Cemetery and Mausoleum on Monday, November 8, at 10:30 a.m., after which Irene will be buried next to Fred, her husband of nearly thirty years.  To watch the live-stream of Irene's service please click the following link http://meet.google.com/bjb-gors-cvj

In lieu of flowers, please donate blood to your local Red Cross chapter or make a financial donation in the name of Irene Gardner.  Donations can be made online at http://RedCross.org/donate

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