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Mrs. Dorene Lavonne Maxey Gardner, 85, of Millwright Court, Mocksville, died on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019 at Bermuda Village in Bermuda Run after a 6-month battle with bone cancer.

She was born to the late Robert Walter Maxey and Edna Ruth Cunningham Maxey in rural Marion County, Ill. and the township Kinmundy. Mrs. Gardner grew up mostly in Stephenson County and Northwest Illinois. Both her parents’ families had deep roots in rural Illinois farming and dairy communities. She was born one of 6 children, having a twin sister and 4 brothers, and served as a second mother to her youngest brother. After getting married and moving “to town”, Mrs. Gardner spent many years raising 2 children in Freeport, Ill., attending to them doing such things as applying vinegar to sunburns and spending many hours baking and preparing meals. She introduced her children to large semi-annual family reunions and her bowling league. Mrs. Gardner’s first professional job was that of a telephone operator and later as a secretary in the insurance industry. A second marriage brought her to Shelby, and eventually to the Winston-Salem area where she worked as a secretary for Royal Cake Co. Her final marriage, to Willis Knox Gardner, took her to Elizabethton, Tenn. where they owned a retail bakery. Retirement brought them back to North Carolina for their final years and last home in Mocksville. Mrs. Gardner was well liked and will be remembered for her kind and caring ways, as well as her baking and bowling skills.

She was also preceded in death by: her husband; and her twin-sister, Darlene Stahl.

Survivors: 2 children, Vicki Lynne Swick and Kim Allan Strohacker (Sally) of Advance: 4 brothers, George Maxey, Loren Maxey (June), Richard Maxey (Marsha), and Roger Maxey (Daisey): 5 grandchildren, Emily Ruth Strohacker, Todd Marten, Curtis Thomas, Miles Thomas and Kristen Frederickson; and numerous nieces and nephews.

The family will conduct a celebration of life at Camp Merriwood in Clemmons at a later date. Inurnment will follow at Westlawn Gardens of Memory in Clemmons.

Condolences: www.eatonfuneralservice.com.