Annie Mae (Strickland) Gardner

Annie Mae Gardner, 67, of Myrtle Beach, SC, passed away April 22, 2021 in Myrtle Beach.  Born in Latta, SC, she was the third of five children born to the late William Vernie and Ola Mae (Clark) Strickland.  She was the wife of William Troy Gardner of Denver, CO.

Ann was raised a "Carolina-Girl" in the Pee Dee area of South Carolina.  She helped on the family farm there, attended church and school there, and made lifelong friends there.  It was also there that she was blessed with the truest loves of her life, her daughter (Lisa) and later her grandchildren (Kellie and Aaron).  Her parents taught, and her family reinforced her unfading values of love, loyalty, kindness, and fairness.

She met her husband in 1997 and soon began to travel with him and his work.  Over the next 20 years, she'd traveled domestically to New York, Chicago, Denver, Dallas, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas, among others.  She traveled internationally to England, France, Germany, and Egypt, and even lived for a year in London (in 2000) and a year in Cairo (in 2009).

Ann recognized and loved beautiful things.  She cherished the beauty of the simpler life of her upbringing, as well as the beauty of a bustling city street.  She loved a barrel fire in Florence South Carolina as much as she loved a sidewalk café in Florence Italy.  She strived to make her home beautiful and loved hosting family and friends for parties and events.

Her passion for home-design was only surpassed by her love of cooking.  And she was good at it.  She’d designed her own kitchen, then spent every available hour creating dishes for others to enjoy.

Ann is survived by her husband Troy of Myrtle Beach, SC, her daughter Lisa and her husband Jimmy Poston of Latta, SC.  She is also survived by three sisters and one brother, Dorothy Strickland, Alene Cox, Wilma Lee Strickland and brother William C. Strickland all of Latta SC.  She is survived by her two grandchildren, Kellie Caulder and her spouse Robert Caulder of Bennettesville SC, and Aaron Alston of Winston Salem NC.  She also had two great grandchildren Lucas H. Caulder and A'Bella Alston.

A memorial service will be held at McMillan-Small Funeral Home on Saturday, May 01, 2021 at 3:00 PM.  Visitation will be one hour prior to the service, from 2:00 - 3:00 PM at the funeral home.

The family asks that donations to the United Way Horry County be made in lieu of flowers. They can be reached at https://unitedwayhorry.org/give/

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