Jesse Oscar Gardner, age 73 of 14538 Linden Road SE, Tippecanoe, Ohio died at 12:27 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 4.
He was born in rural Tippecanoe on May 8, 1942, a son of the late Sherman Oscar Gardner and Pauline Mae Hines Gardner. Jesse graduated from Freeport High School in 1960.
He was a US Army Veteran, doing his basic training in Fort Knox, Kentucky, completed welding school in Aberden, Maryland, went to West Point for additional welding training, then to Fort Benning, Georgia for jump school training and joined the Paratroopers for a couple years.
Jesse retired in 2002 from Consolidated Coal Company, Cadiz where he was a first-class welder on the Gem of Egypt, Silver Spade, and numerous other electric shovels plus worked in the maintenance department. He also worked for five years (1986-1991) at Gradall, New Philadelphia. He was also a Perry Township Trustee for several years.
He was an outdoorsman. He loved to hunt grouse, and raise and sell bird dogs. He loved horses and broke, trained and sold them. He won the national championship in sporting clays primitive percussion muzzle loading in 1975 in Friendship, Indiana. He was a nuisance trapper for area farmers. He had a great relationship with the Lord and was thankful for all the good years. He had a great sense of humor and was witty.
Surviving are a son, Jody Adam (Susie) Gardner of Tippecanoe; a daughter, Lori Jean (Patrick) Bender of Gnadenhutten; three grandchildren: Michelle Elizabeth (Adam) Grandison, William Jesse Kaiser, and Zachery Alvin Kaiser; two brothers: Russell Gardner of Gnadenhutten and Charlie (Linda) Gardner of Tippecanoe; two sisters: Edna (Jonas) Troyer of Millersburg and Delma (Stanley) Wallace of Bolivar; his ex-wife and mother of his children, Margie Caldwell of Newcomerstown; a special friend, Karen Ingram of Freeport and numerous nieces and nephews.
In addition to his parents, Jesse was preceded in death by a sister Faye Smith.
Services will be held at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 8, in Koch Funeral Home, 216 S High Street, Freeport with Pastor Sandra Cappel officiating. Military rites and burial will follow in Mount Carmel Cemetery, near Stillwater. Visitation will be held from 7 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, and Sunday, Nov. 8 from 1 to 2 p.m. (one hour prior to the service) in the funeral home.
There will be a time of fellowship following the services at the Mount Carmel social hall.
Online condolences may be made to the family on the funeral home’s website.