Bedene Funeral Home

Classes will be canceled for Lincoln students Thursday.Audrey Gardner, who taught at the Iola school district for 16 years, died Monday morning at Allen County Regional Hospital. She was 41.USD 257 Superintendent Stacey Fager and Lincoln principal Andy Gottlob notified teachers and staff at a meeting early Monday. Two school counselors and others joined them to talk to Gardner’s fourth grade class after lunch, then went from classroom to classroom to talk to students.“It was very tough. Her class took it pretty hard,” Gottlob said. “We tried to comfort them, told them it was OK that they had those feelings. We let them talk if they wanted to talk or write notes and cards to the family.”This was Gardner’s first year teaching fourth grade. She previously taught third grade, and a handful of her students this year also were in her class last year. “She commented to me many times how she was really enjoying the year and it was one of the best classes she’d had,” Gottlob said. “There was a lot of respect between her and her kids. They knew she loved them.”Gardner’s fellow teachers shared their memories with the Register, recalling her as a dedicated teacher who “had a passion for Iola and the kids here.” Gardner started her career in Iola. Gardner also had a passion for hedgehogs. Over the years she twice welcomed a hedgehog as a class pet, naming them “Cinnamon Toast” and “Chocolate Thunder.” Though she didn’t currently have a class pet, students on Tuesday downloaded pictures of hedgehogs as their screensavers in her honor.Many recalled how Gardner wore flip-flops every day, no matter the weather, and that she loved the outdoors and especially hunting.She was known for creative class projects, such as building log cabins for social studies and a “Christmas Around the World” project that encouraged students to “travel” the world to learn about the holiday in...