Lenore Hayes Jolly Gardner, 94 died August 30, 2014 at Cedar Hill Assisted Care where she was well cared for.  “Jolly”, as she was affectionately called, was born April 21, 1920 in Canton, Ohio to Mollie Virginia (Leonard) and Austin Howell Jolly, Jr. She married Joseph Stuard and they had a daughter, Carol Virginia, and later divorced.  She met her husband of 55 years, Vernard Gardner, when he served in the Navy in New Smyrna Beach, Florida where she lived. After the war, they moved to Claremont, NH where Jolly enjoyed making dresses for her Carol and where her love of gardening led her to found the Claremont Garden Club. Jolly and neighbor, Bea Gagne, cleared a large tract of land where they grew hybrid irises, among other plants, raised them in a greenhouse, and sold them.  She became president of that organization and also a Master Flower Show Judge, an approved Flower Show School Instructor, a member of the American Guild of Flower Arrangers, a two term past president of the New Hampshire Federation of Garden Clubs, and a life member of the National Council of State Garden Clubs.

Jolly was an amateur journalist, editing the Gardner Club’s Lilac Letter and submitting many columns to the local newspaper. An annual award in her name is given at the state flower show to the top exhibitor.   She was a guest lecturer on gardening, exhibiting, and arranging.  Prior to his death, Jolly and Vern traveled extensively both in the United States and also to Hawaii and Brazil.  They moved back to New Smyrna Beach, Florida for their retirement.  After Vernard’s death in 2003, Jolly managed to stay in her home until, at 88 years old, she opted to go to Cedar Hill Assisted Care Facility, closer to her children.  There, she has enjoyed the camaraderie of the others in the community, daily games of bingo, and with her worsening eyesight, books on tape provided free from the VT Association for the Blind.

Jolly is survived by four children; two daughters and two sons.  Carol Virginia Frawley and husband Robert, Hooksett, New Hampshire have three children; Vernard Gardner and wife Paula from Kittery, Maine; two children; Lawrence Christopher and wife Linda from Tigard, Oregon; one son and daughter-in-law, and Sylvia G. Sivret and husband Ed; two children; 8 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchild and 3 great-great grandchildren.  Memorial donations can be made to the Claremont Garden Club, 65 North Shore Road, Unity NH 03773 or New Smyrna Beach Garden Club, C/O Judi Jodoin, 100 Lake Fairgreen Circle, New Smyrna Beach, FL 32168, or to the Vermont Association for the Blind, 60 Kimball Avenue, S. Burlington, VT 05403.

Family and friends may call at the Stringer Funeral Home, 146 Broad Street, Claremont, NH, on Saturday, September 6^th from 9-11AM.  A reception will follow at the Claremont Recreation Center, South Street, Claremont.