HJ202: Celebrating the life of Susan Camille Gardner, DVM.

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 202

Offered February 9, 2020
Celebrating the life Susan Camille Gardner, DVM.
Patrons-- Byron; Senator: Newman

WHEREAS, Susan Camille Gardner, DVM, a respected member of the Huddleston community who made many contributions to agriculture and veterinary medicine in the Commonwealth, died on January 20, 2020; and

WHEREAS, a native of Clarksburg, West Virginia, Susan Gardner cultivated a lifelong love of animals and the outdoors; she graduated as one of only four women students in the Class of 1970 at the Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine; and

WHEREAS, Susan Gardner started her own veterinary practice, Bedford Animal Hospital, with her husband, Don, in 1971; she offered her expertise to the American Veterinary Medical Association, the Virginia Academy of Food Animal Practitioners, and the American Association of Bovine Practitioners and served as a director of the Virginia Veterinary Medical Association; and

WHEREAS, Susan Gardner was an active leader in the Bedford County Farm Bureau as a longtime member of the board of directors and chair of the women’s committee; she received the organization’s Distinguished Service Award in 2018 for her legacy of hard work; and

WHEREAS, Susan Gardner also served the Commonwealth as director of the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Regional Diagnostic Laboratory in Lynchburg; and

WHEREAS, later in life, Susan Gardner retired to her farm, where she enjoyed tending to her animals and relished every opportunity to spend time with her beloved family and friends; and

WHEREAS, Susan Gardner will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by her husband of 49 years, Don; her sons, Andy and Sam, and their families; and numerous other family members and friends; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby note with great sadness the loss of Susan Camille Gardner, DVM, a trusted veterinarian in Bedford County; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Susan Camille Gardner, DVM, as an expression of the General Assembly’s respect for her memory.