Macel Snell Gardner, 81, of Elizabethton, passed away on Sunday, January 17, 2016, at Hermitage Health Center. She was the daughter of the late Henry and Julia Webb Snell and was born in Carter County. In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by two brothers, Dennis Snell and Kermit “Dee” Snell, and two sisters, Louise Morse and Doris Elliott McKeehan.
Mrs. Gardner retired as the Operations Manager of United Telephone, where she had worked in the business office for 41 years, and was a member of Immanuel Baptist Church, where she had previously taught Sunday School. She was a wonderful lady who loved to help people and was active with the Meals on Wheels program for 20 years. She loved to walk, and had walked enough miles to be well on her way to Hawaii. She liked to walk four miles every day.
Those left to cherish her memory include her husband, Ralph Slemp Gardner, of the home; two nieces, Kathy E. Gregory, Johnson City, and Sharon Martin, Pembroke Pines, Fla.; and a nephew, Jeffery Elliott and his wife, Daphne, Jacksonville, Fla. Other nieces and nephews in Maryland also survive.
A service to honor the life of Mrs. Gardner will be conducted at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, January 20, in the Sunset Chapel of Hathaway-Percy Funeral Home with Rev. Tim Tapp officiating. Music will be under the direction of Serena and Mike Little, Jessica Fitzgerald and Edwin Taylor. The family will receive friends in the funeral home chapel from 1 until 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, prior to the service. Those who prefer memorials in lieu of flowers may make donations to Immanuel Baptist Church, 205 Hunter Avenue, Elizabethton, TN 37643. Interment will follow the service at Happy Valley Memorial Park. Active pallbearers will be selected from family and friends. The family would like to extend a special thank you to the members of Immanuel Baptist Church, her many friends, and the staff of Hermitage Health Center for the love and support shown during her illness. Online condolences may be shared with the family at our website, www.hathawaypercy.com.
Hathaway-Percy Funeral and Cremation Services is serving the Gardner family. Office (423) 543-5544.