Ernest Bernhard Gardow, PhD, P.E., 77, of Simsbury, CT passed away on Saturday, June 30, 2012. His wife of 55 years, Margery Peters Gardow, survives him. Ernie (also known as Dad and Opa) was born on August 18, 1934, in Buffalo, NY, son of Ernst Adam and Paula Mennacher Gardow. He was a graduate of Amherst Central High School in 1952 and of Union College, Schenectady, NY, where he received a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering in 1956. He received his SM in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1958. He was an engineer at Hamilton Standard in Connecticut until 1965. He achieved his PhD in Mechanical Engineering at the State University of NY at Buffalo in December of 1967. When he began his long dedication to the University of Hartford early in 1968, he moved with his family to Simsbury, CT. He was Professor of Mechanical Engineering in the College of Engineering, and for a number of years was Chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department. He enjoyed teaching, playing his tuba and accordion, music and opera, history, travel in the US and abroad, and especially his family. Throughout his life he was involved with many organizations, such as ASME, NCEES, CSPE and MathCounts, ASEE, Cogeneration Society, Sigma Xi, Pi Tau Sigma, University of Hartford Emeriti Association, Union College Alumni Council and the Class of 1956 ReUnion Committee, Simsbury Community Band, Simsbury Planning Commission, Simsbury Republican Town Committee, First Congregational Church of Granby, CT, Hartford Saengerbund, The Donau Club, Chi Psi Fraternity, YMCA, and Civitan Club. With his wife, he has been a 20-year member of the Alpenland Schuhplattlers of New Britain, CT – embracing his Bavarian cultural roots. He held positions of responsibility in many of these organizations, providing benefits to many. He was a man of extreme integrity, loyalty, dedication, and ethics. Besides his wife, he leaves his children, Kathryn Gardow and her husband, David Bradlee, their children Pearl and Marcus Bradlee of Seattle, WA; Eva Gardow and her husband Ty Dewhurst, their children Margot and Hawkins Gardow of Kinnelon, NJ; Polly Rice and her husband Bill, their children Will and Liza of West Simsbury, CT; and Peter Gardow and his wife, Cheryl, and their daughter, Julia, of Wethersfield, CT. He also leaves his twin sisters Suzanne Endres and her husband Don of Vestal, NY, and Eleanor Frauenhofer and her husband Andy of Santa Rosa, CA; also Hubert Mennacher and Erika Kobler and other first cousins and their families in Munich, Germany; and many nieces and nephews. We thank the kind folks at River Ridge at Avon and of McLean Hospice, Simsbury, for their care and attention during Ernie’s illness. Calling hours will be at the Vincent Funeral Home, 880 Hopmeadow Street in Simsbury, CT on Thursday, July 5th, from 4-7 pm. A memorial service and gathering of friends will be at a later date at the family’s convenience. Memorial contributions may be made to the Dean Zerban Endowed Scholarship, Office of Institutional Development, University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Ave., W. Hartford CT 06117; or to the Simsbury Community Band, P. O. Box 201, Simsbury, CT 06070. Please visit Ernie’s “Book of Memories” at www.vincentfuneralhome.com for online condolences.