It is with profound sadness that the family of Hilda Taylor Gardner-Cashwell, announces her peaceful passing on July 21, 2023, at the age of 83.

A celebration of her life will be held at 2 o'clock on Tuesday, July 25, 2023, in River of Life Baptist Church, Sunset Beach, NC, with The Rev. Michael Borton officiating, and the family will receive friends immediately following the celebration of her life.

The burial will be held at 2:30 pm on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, in Magnolia Cemetery, 100 S. Cedar Lane, Hartsville, SC. The family will receive friends from 1:00 until 2:00 pm on Wednesday, July 26, 2023, at Brown-Pennington-Atkins Funeral Home, 306 W. Home Avenue, Hartsville, SC.

In addition to flowers, memorials may be made in her honor to River of Life Baptist Church, 8411 Ocean Hwy West, Sunset Beach, NC 28468, or to St. Jude's Children's Hospital, 501 St. Jude Place, Memphis, TN 38105. The family respectfully asks that those wishing to send flowers do so to Brown-Pennington-Atkins Funeral Home in Hartsville, SC.

The Directors of Brown-Pennington-Atkins Funeral Home & Crematory are caring for the family.

Mrs. Gardner-Cashwell was born in Cumberland County, NC, on January 25, 1940. She was the daughter of the late Maurice Thomas Taylor Sr. and the late Lillian Mae McDaniel Taylor.

There aren’t enough words to describe Ma or the depth of the love she freely bestowed on other people. She was a painter, a lover of books, a fantastic cook and baker, and a want-to-be race car driver. It didn’t matter what sports we played or what music we performed, she was the number one fan for all of them.

She taught us little things, like how to make an enormous bow out of ribbon, and big things, like how to love Jesus and one another. She never let any of us forget how much she loved us, and wouldn’t let anyone off the phone until she’d told us at least a dozen times. She was and always will be the best mother, mother-in-law, grandmother, wife, sister, aunt, and friend any of us ever knew. An angel here on this earth, to know her was to love her, and we will miss her more than words every day.

She will be forever remembered by her husband of 17 years, Donald Cashwell; her loving children, Linda Gardner Hanks (Charley), Nancy Gardner Morris (Mike), and John Gardner (Carlynn); stepchildren, Robert "Butch" Gardner, Jr. (Joyce), Connie Gardner Knotts (Eddie), and Carla Cashwell Bolick (Keith); grandchildren, Christopher, Jessica, James, Kelley, Holly, and Lindsey; step-grandchildren, Johnny, Ashley, Jennifer, Sunni, Brandon, Ramsey, Hannah, Tanya Renee; great-grandchildren, Ryder, Myla, Camden, Samuel, Cooper, Sophia, Cameron, Jack and several step-great-grandchildren. She is also survived by sisters, Evelyn Deaver, and Elaine Huckabee (Wayne), as well as numerous relatives and dear friends.

In addition to her parents, she was preceded in death by her loving husband of 46 years, Robert Burton Gardner Sr.; sisters, Theresa Hutaff, Eunice Smith, Runette Dale, Faye Lott, and Edith Taylor; brothers, Maurice T. Taylor Jr., Charles "Frankie" Taylor, and her step-granddaughter, Joanna Haire.