Dr. Gardner served as the Louise Lenoir Locke Professor and Chair of Pathology from 1981 to 2002 and as interim dean and vice president for Medical Affairs from 1997 to 1998 at the USA College of Medicine. In 2002, he accepted the role as executive director of the American Registry of Pathology and CEO of the International Registry of Pathology.
During his tenure at USA, Dr. Gardner received a Fulbright Award to teach prostatic pathology and other areas in the Slovak Republic from 1996 to 1997. Dr. Gardner dedicated time to performing extensive research on pathology with a focus on prostate cancer.
Dr. Gardner is survived by his wife of 51 years, Ann Medlin Gardner, his children Elizabeth Gardner Schneider (Todd Schneider) of Alexandria, Va.; Lee Gardner DeGroft (Aaron DeGroft) of Williamsburg, Va.; and William Dylan Gardner (Kirsten Winther Gardner) of South Pasadena, Calif.; seven grandchildren, Madelyn and Sam Schneider, Graham and Ellen DeGroft, and William A. IV, Grace and Henry Gardner; and his sister, Betty Gardner Satterfield of Bowling Green, Ky.
There will be a memorial service and reception held in honor of Dr. Gardner on Oct. 27, 2011, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the Powell Room of the Cosmos Club, 2121 Massachusetts Ave., NW Washington, D.C. 20008.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Medical University of South Carolina Foundation for the William A. Gardner, Jr., MD Scholarship Fund (MUSC Foundation, 18 Bee Street, MSC, 450, Charleston, SC 29425)
