Mrs. Belle Rogers Gardner, age 83, of Jefferson died Tuesday night, December 1, 2009 at her home. A memorial service will be held on Saturday, December 5, 2009 at 3pm at First Baptist Church in West Jefferson with Rev. Michael Lea and Rev. Ken Morris officiating. The family will receive friends from 12:00-3:00pm on Saturday, three hours prior to the memorial service at the church. Mrs. Gardner was born in Wake County on Thursday, May 6, 1926 to the late Leonidas S. and Ruby Freeman Rogers. She graduated from Meredith College with a BS degree. She taught History and English at Lansing High School and Northwest Ashe High School retiring from the Ashe County School System after 37 years. She was an active member of First Baptist Church, where she taught Sunday school for 53 years. She was also actively involved in the First Baptist WMU, West Jefferson Woman's Club and Delta Kappa Gamma. She was also preceded in death by her husband, C.E. "Chuck" Gardner. She is survived by three sons, Rick Gardner and wife, Jane, of Grassy Creek, Roger Gardner and wife, Susan, of Raleigh and Ken Gardner and wife, Billie, of West Jefferson; ten grandchildren; five great-grandchildren; several nieces and nephews also survive. In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to: First Baptist Church, PO Box 180, West Jefferson, NC 28694 or C.E. "Chuck" Gardner Agricultural Endowment, NC Cooperative Extension Service Foundation, NCSU Box 7645, Raleigh, NC 27695-7645 or High Country Healthcare Hospice, PO Box 421, Jefferson, NC 28640.