Kurt Gardner of Westhampton Beach died at the Kanas Center for Hospice Care on October 8, 2017, after a brief illness. He was 93.
Mr. Gardner was born on March 15, 1924, and grew up in Rockville Center. After graduating from Southside High School, he attended the University of Virginia. In 1943 he joined the United States Air Force and served as a bombardier flying missions over Germany at the end of World War II. When the war was over, he completed his education at the University of Miami on the GI Bill. Though he was a chemist, he worked in that field a short time.
In the early 1950s, he lived in Rio de Janeiro where he was a chemical salesman. In 1954 he joined Trans World Airlines as a purser and then a service manager. He worked for TWA until he retired in 1986.
He met Suzanne Marchisello, who would become his wife, in 1963 and they traveled the world together. They settled in Westhampton Beach in 1978. He was the vice president and good will ambassador to their business, O’Suzanna on Main Street until she retired in 2014. Survivors said he was well known on Main Street for his laughter, humor and the twinkle in his eye. He was an avid windsurfer and didn’t give up the sport until he was 88 years old.
There will be a memorial gathering at the Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center on Sunday, October 29, from 3 to 5 p.m. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Werner-Rothwell Funeral Home in Westhampton Beach.
on Oct 16, 2017