Linda Hughes Gardner of Southside Chesconessex

Loving mother, grandmother, wife, and friend, Linda Hughes Gardner, of Southside Chesconessex, VA, passed away Thursday, October 5, 2023, at the place she loved the best, her home with her husband and partner of 51 years, Howard Lee Gardner, Jr.

Linda was born in Tasley, VA, on February 21, 1950, a daughter to Sidney Edward Carmine, Jr., and Helen Marie Carmine. She started out full of spunk and life and kept that demeanor throughout her years. She could often be found with a Pepsi in one hand and her phone playing a Facebook video in the other. She ate cherry tomatoes like they were going out of style. Most afternoons, life stopped long enough for her to catch up on her “stories.” She loved her community and family, and they loved her right back.

Linda was feisty, especially if you rooted against her beloved Washington Redskins. She went to war with many Dallas Cowboys fans on social media, and she’d take the challenge all the way to the one-yard line. But the great thing about Linda is that the next day they’d be friends again; she didn’t let the little things bother her.

It was in nature that she found true peace. She loved flowers, and she was outstanding at growing and cultivating some of the most beautiful on the Shore. When she was outside, standing on the dock, she’d turn to the sky to see which birds she could identify. There are few people that can complete a crossword puzzle in ink and not once look to the legend for answers—Linda was one of those people. She was great at many things, but her greatest accomplishment is her family. She adored them. Linda was quick to tell a stranger or friend a story about her grandson or a funny story about her husband. There are a lot of people who are going to miss hearing Linda say, “Yello,” on the other end of a telephone, or miss getting a sweet note in her beautiful handwriting, but they can rest assured that every time they stand on the dock in Southside Chesconessex, and look up, that there will be someone very special looking back at them, soaring with the birds.

Linda is survived by her husband, Howard Gardner, Jr., of Southside Chesconessex; daughter, Tina Marie Hemphill, of Magnolia, DE; beloved grandson, Donald Wayne Hemphill, Jr., of Melfa, VA; niece, Vickie Parker, and husband, Darrell, of Southside Chesconessex; great-nieces and great-nephews, Preston Bradford III, Dyllon Bradford, and De’Anna Bradford; several cousins; and many friends up and down the Shore. She was predeceased by her parents and her sister, Barbara Ann Lauer.

A funeral service will be held Wednesday, October 11, 2023, at 2:00 p.m., from the chapel of the Williams-Onancock Funeral Home, with the Reverend William Jefferson officiating. There will be a visitation at the funeral home for family and friends one hour prior to the service, so be sure to bring a memorable story to share with the family.

Memory tributes may be shared with the family at www.williamsfuneralhomes.com.

Arrangements by the Williams-Onancock Funeral Home.