Laurin H. Gardner, 93, of Newberry, a long-serving pastor and Southern Baptist missionary, died Jan. 2, 2013.
Born July 3, 1919, in Fletcher, N.C., Gardner was a graduate of Furman University and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps, 1941-1945.
In South Carolina, Gardner served as pastor of First Baptist Church, Simpsonville, and Calvary Baptist Church, Lancaster. He also pastored churches in Indiana and Ohio.
In 1965, he was appointed by the Home Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention to serve as a missionary. He served as a director of missions in Ohio and in Pennsylvania.
Following his retirement, he served as a consultant to the Baptist Convention of Pennsylvania/South Jersey, director of missions for Clinton Baptist Association, Clinton, Tenn., and pastor of Chappells Baptist Church in South Carolina.
He was married for 68 years to Pearle Bishop Gardner, who died in 2010.
Survivors include five children, nine grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.