Edwina Gardner, 80, of Spirit Lake passed away on Friday, April 10, 2026, at Accura Healthcare of Spirit Lake.
A funeral service will be held at 10:30 AM on Monday, April 13, 2026, at the United Methodist Church in Spirit Lake. Visitation will be held from 3-5 PM on Sunday at the Robinson Funeral Home in Spirit Lake. Burial will be held in the Lake View Cemetery in Spirit Lake. Arrangements are under the direction of the Robinson Funeral Home in Spirit Lake. Online condolences may be left at www.spiritlakefuneralhome.com
Edwina was born on May 20, 1945, to Edwin and Josephine (Heller) Thompson in San Fransico, CA. She was united in marriage to Derald Leroy Gardner on September 16, 1962, at the United Methodist Church in Montgomery, IA. Derald preceded her in death on November 8, 2019, in Spirit Lake. She worked for many years at Berkley Fishing Company and also cleaned house when she had time. She retired in 2005.
She is a member of the United Methodist Church in Spirit Lake. In her free time, she enjoyed tending to her flowers, decorating for the holidays, making homemade bread, cinnamon rolls and canning. She spent many hours volunteering at the church, providing meals for the church youth group, deep cleaning the kitchen and weeding all around the building. She loved to spend time with her family, especially her grandchildren and great grandchildren. If you couldn’t find her at home keeping busy, then most likely she was at the Marble Beach Campground where her and Derald were campground hosts for 9 years.
Left to cherish her memory are her children, Robin Gardner of Spirit Lake, IA; Jodi (Danny) Frerichs of Estherville, IA; Wade Gardner of Spirit Lake, IA; and Candy (Trevor) Hendershot of Lake Park, IA; grandchildren Jamie Williams, Ashley Jansen, Nicole Southworth, Derek Halquist, Wyatt Gardner, and Charlie Gardner; 17 great grandchildren; sister Geraldine Crawmer of Spirit Lake, IA; her brother Arthur (Jill) Thompson of Spirit Lake, IA and many nieces and nephews.
She was preceded in death by her parents, husband, sisters Annabele and Renae, her brother Melivin Thompson, nephew Arnie Tolan and her niece Gracie Burlage.
Memorials made be directed to the Spirit Lake United Methodist Church Youth Group.