Brian Clair Gardner

Brian Clair Gardner, 68, of Carlisle, PA, passed away on August 2, 2026, at UPMC Carlisle Hospital. He was born on May 20, 1958, in Carlisle to the late Virden Clair and Fern (Kuhn) Gardner.

Brian graduated from Carlisle High School in 1976, where he was a member of the marching band and the jazz ensemble, The Galaxies. In 1974, he traveled to Europe with the high school band following its 1970 world championship, where they earned a third-place finish. After high school, he attended Penn State Mont Alto for one year, but his true passion was always music. 

Throughout his life, Brian played drums in numerous bands. He performed with Appalachia, which played at the Carlisle Theatre and opened for the Ramones and Robert Palmer at Dickinson College. He also toured the East Coast and Florida with Hit N Run. Other notable bands he performed with included Address Unknown, Strange Behavior, Dog Party, and Free Shotz, though his longest tenure was with Appalachia. In recent years, Brian continued his lifelong love of music by reuniting with Appalachia and helping form Monkey Down. 

Brian spent the majority of his career in Materials Management at Carlisle Hospital, where he began working in 1984 and remained until his retirement in 2021. His years at the hospital were not only memorable but life-changing, as it was there that he met his future wife, Paula, through the hospital’s bowling league. 

Brian never met a stranger. Whether you knew him through music, work, or everyday life, you knew him as a kind, welcoming, and genuinely caring person. He also had a playful sense of humor and was known for inventing his own unique sayings that often left even his family scratching their heads. 

Brian is survived by his wife, Paula Gardner of Carlisle; his sons, Cory Gardner (Janine) of Myersville, Maryland, and Nathan Gardner (Ashley) of Carlisle; his grandson, Nash Gardner; and many cousins. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his siblings, Denise Dunbar and Dennis Gardner. 

Memorial services will be held on Thursday, August 13, 2026, at 12:00 p.m. at Hollinger Funeral Home & Crematory, Inc., 501 N. Baltimore Ave., Mt. Holly Springs, PA 17065, with Pastor Dan Murray officiating. Visitation will be held from 10:00 a.m. until the time of the service. Burial will follow at Mt. Holly Springs Cemetery. In lieu of flowers, the family kindly requests that memorial contributions be made in Brian’s memory to the American Cancer Society or the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.