Vail Daily obituary: Robert Chambers Gardner, 1957-2014
Robert Chambers Gardner was born on Oct. 21, 1957, and passed away on Nov. 26 after a battle with cancer. He was 57 and resided in both Avon and was a resident of Darien, Connecticut, since 1996.
Bob is survived by his beloved wife, Elizabeth Carder Gardner; his parents, Mary Shoup Gardner and Glenn Gibson Gardner, of Old Snowmass; his brother Peter Stacey Gardner, of Aurora; and his sister Elizabeth Paulin Gardner, of Evergreen.
Bob was a fourth generation Colorado native. His great-grandfather Oliver Henry Shoup was governor of the state from 1919 to 1923. Bob grew up in Denver and was an expert skier and a passionate lover of the outdoors. He was a wilderness leader for NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) and was highly regarded for his deep knowledge of outdoor survival skills. He graduated from University of Utah in 1979 and began his career in technology working for ROLM before moving to Novell, Citrix and Hewlett-Packard, where he was vice president of distribution sales and enterprise security products.
He was an expert mountaineer and sportsman. He climbed throughout the world, summiting Aconcagua in Argentina and climbing Mt. McKinley in Alaska. He was also an avid golfer and tennis player who belonged to the Country Club of Darien, Red Sky Golf Club in Wolcott and Naples Grande Golf Club in Naples, Florida. He was the chairman of the board of The Can Do Center in Avon, a charity that assists multiple sclerosis patients, and also served on the board of the Eagle Valley Land Trust.
Services will be held at the Noroton Presbyterian Church, located at 211 Post Road, Darien, Connecticut, on Saturday at 1 p.m. A second memorial service will be held in Vail at a later date.
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Donations can be made in Bob’s name to the American Cancer Society, 38 Richards Avenue, Norwalk, CT 06854; or Can Do MS (mscando.org).