Susan Elaine Gardner was born in Washington, DC on March 4, 1947, and passed away in Houston, Texas on November 1, 2023.

She is preceded in death by her beloved husband, Richard Gardner, and her parents, Carol and Pearl Gilbertson.

Susan grew up in Orlando, Fl. In her early twenties she moved to Houston, TX with her parents. This is where she met her husband Richard Gardner.

Susan worked as a hairdresser until her 2 children were born. She then became a stay at home mom. While raising her children, she was very active in the PTA and had many hobbies. One of her hobbies included faberge eggs. She belonged to an Egg club where ladies would get together and work on their egg art with much detail. Many of them were hand beaded and the eggs used ranged from large ostrich eggs down to small finch and canary eggs. Susan even presented an egg to Governor Clements with her egg club, and another was presented to Mary Kay.

When Susan's children were high school age, she went back to work in a hair salon. In 1997 Susan and her husband Richard moved to Massachusetts for Richard's job. This is where she fell in love with Early American antiques and was an avid collector until she passed away.

After 4yrs in Massachusetts, Susan and Richard moved back to Houston Tx. Susan worked as a hairdresser until retirement. She then took care of her grandchildren full time for the next 4 yrs.

Susan also loved to garden and work in her yard. She got yard of the month in her neighborhood often. She grew many interesting plants including orchids.

Genealogy was among her hobbies as well. She loved history and reading, so researching the family tree was much fun for her. She found and became friends with many relatives in different countries such as Norway and Sweden.

Susan was diagnosed with Crohn's disease in her early twenties. She was able to manage it most of her life and was considered to be in remission since 1989. After her husband passed away, the disease came back with a vengeance and also included diverticulitis.

Susan is survived by her children, Mike Gardner, and Jennifer Kitchens and husband James; grandchildren, Bo Kitchens, Gracie Kitchens, Devin Kitchens, Brendan Gardner, and Braydan Gardner; and sister, Sonja Ruiz. Along with nieces and nephews.

A funeral service for Susan will be held at 2pm on Monday, November 13, 2023 at Klein Funeral Home, 9719 Wortham Blvd., Houston, TX 77065.  She will be laid to rest with her husband in Klein Memorial Park Cypress.