[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 4 (Thursday, January 6, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E8]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING THE LIFE OF JOSEPH ``JOE'' EGGLESTON GARDNER, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BRIAN BABIN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 6, 2022

  Mr. BABIN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy 
of my friend, Joseph ``Joe'' Eggleston Gardner, Jr., who passed away on 
Thursday, December 16, 2021, at the age of 72, in San Antonio, Texas.
  Joe was born in Washington, D.C., on March 26, 1949. However, he was 
raised in Corpus Christi, Texas. He graduated from Sewanee Military 
Academy and earned degrees at both the University of Texas and Texas 
A&M University.
  Joe contributed generously to civic organizations by serving on the 
Texas Water Development Board, the Nueces River Authority, and the Del 
Mar College Board of Directors. He also co-founded the Animal Rescue 
Foundation in Seguin, Texas. Joe was a member of the Episcopal Church 
of the Good Shepherd in Corpus Christi and I was a board member of 
Saint Joseph's Anglican Church in New Braunfels.
  Joe and I first met 40 years ago when we served on the Texas State 
Board of Dental Examiners together. Joe was the first public member 
ever appointed, and I was the youngest dentist ever selected for the 
board. We were the new guys, but I knew dentistry, and Joe knew 
``Robert's Rules of Order,'' a guide of parliamentary procedure, and it 
was not long before we made our mark.
  We had much in common, and our friendship endured long after our 
Dental Board tenures. He was a student of history and an astute 
political mind. Since his teenage years, Joe was an active member of 
the Republican Party. He was on the staff of Senator John Tower, the 
first Republican Senator elected from Texas since the Civil War. Joe 
also served on the Congressional Republican Caucus, and he was, at one 
time, a candidate for U.S. Congress. He did not win, but he never gave 
up, and he never gave in on his strong conservative beliefs.
  Joe is preceded in death by his mother, Neely Laura Procter Gardner 
of Houston, Texas, and his father, Joseph Eggleston Gardner, M.D., of 
Greenwood, Mississippi. He is survived by his daughter, Rebecca Sarah 
Gardner of Savannah, Georgia; his son, Joseph Eggleston Peyton Gardner 
of Austin, Texas; and his brother, William Frank Gardner of Houston, 
Texas.
  Madam Speaker, it is a privilege to honor my friend Joe Gardner today 
on the House floor. He was one-of-a-kind, always faithful, funny, and 
someone you could count on in good times and bad. I will be forever 
grateful for his friendship and will miss him dearly. My heartfelt 
prayers remain with his family and friends during this difficult time.

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