Joseph H. Gardner

Joseph Gardner- Professor of English

Published in Lexington Herald-Leader on Dec. 8, 2013.

Dr. Joseph Hogue Gardner, widower of Judith Ogdon Gardner, died at his home December 4, 2013.

Born in DeKalb Co., GA, the son of the Rev. James W. and Jane (McCoy) Gardner, he grew up in McDonough, GA, before attending Woodberry Forest School in VA. He received his A.B. degree, magna cum laude, from Harvard University, his M.A. and PhD from the University of California, Berkeley.

Joining the English Department at Univ. of Kentucky in 1966, he rose from Instructor to Professor and retired after thirty-five years of service, including several tours as an honored teacher and his department's Director of Graduate Studies. His scholarly publications, focusing primarily on 19th Century British literature and visual arts, are all safely tucked away in academic libraries where they injure no one.

A member of many scholarly societies, he held executive positions in both the Nineteenth Century Studies Association and the South-Atlantic Modern Language Association.

In addition to reading, traveling, and thinking about things, he especially enjoyed gardening and cooking, although he was not particularly good at either.

Predeceased by his wife of 46 years and two brothers, he is survived by a daughter, Sarah, and her husband, Sean Anderson, of Lexington; a son, William, and his wife, Frances Tate, of Swarthmore, PA; a granddaughter, Judith Margaret Anderson, two brothers and a sister, plus a host of cousins, nieces and nephews, all dear to him.

A family at a gathering in the Lexington Cemetery was held on Saturday, January 11, 2014. Memorials are suggested to the Friends of the Arboretum, 500 Alumni Drive or Books for Children, c/o Southern Hills Methodist Church, 2356 Harrodsburg Rd.