Clifford M. Gardiner, 1942 – 2021

Clifford M. Gardiner was born in Uxbridge, England on May 14, 1942, to loving parents Patrick Joseph Gardiner and Sarah Marion Wilde. He died on July 19, 2021, with family at his side.

His parents immigrated to Toronto, Ontario in 1954 and then on to New York in 1956. He graduated in 1961 from Roosevelt High School in Yonkers, where he met his future wife Joyce Katherine DiBiase. They married in 1964 and moved to Long Island’s north shore five years later.

Cliff could often be found on the Sound off Northport harbor fishing with friends and family. His love of the water and of the village led him to serve on the Architectural Review Board of the Village of Northport for several years. Cliff loved to take Joyce dancing at Gunther’s Tap Room whenever friends’ bands were playing; they were always the first to the floor.

Cliff began his career in graphic design and publishing at Electronic Design magazine beginning in 1963. He was named art director and remained on staff until 1971. That year Cliff was named art director at Newsday, based in Garden City, overseeing the layout and production of the weekly Long Island Magazine, daily Part II and the TV Guide. From 1978 until 1993 Cliff was the Design Director of Parents Magazine, working alongside Elizabeth Crow to revamp and revitalize the title, winning a National Magazine Award for
General Excellence in 1988.

Cliff is survived by his wife Joyce DiBiase Gardiner of Northport; son Clifford M. Gardiner, Jr. and wife Marie Gardiner and their son Liam Wilde Gardiner of Centerport; and son David S. Gardiner and husband David Branham of Brooklyn.

Cliff is preceded in death by his parents and his younger brother John Gardiner.

Funeral services will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations to a charity of your choice.

The family thanks the entire staff at Visiting Nurse Services’ Hospice House of East Northport.