John D'Arcy Gardner was born in Estevan, Saskatchewan in 1950 near his grandparents Midale, Saskatchewan wheat farm. The family moved along with Gardner's father's mining work, from New York City to Arizona, Peru, and finally Los Altos, California. He enrolled at Grinnell, a highly-ranked liberal arts college in Iowa. At the time, the Vietnam War had ensnared the United States, and on a trip with classmates to Winnipeg he formally renounced his U.S. Citizenship.
After graduating from Grinnell, John Gardner moved to Vancouver Island and took employment in mining and as a logger in order to earn money for travel. In 1973, while he was still on Vancouver Island, two of his friends came from Grinnell to visit. His friend was driving from Port Alberni to Long Beach, with Gardner was in the passenger seat and another friend was in the back, when he hit an icy curve and rolled the car down a cliff. A driver behind them stopped and scrambled down to assist, lifting Gardner and causing his spine to fracture. As an excellent pupil in recovery at the G.F. Strong Rehabilitation Centre, he recovered some and met Karen Wellburn while in courses at Simon Fraser University.
Along with her support, John Gardner enrolled in law school at the University of British Columbia, completing his LL. B. as the first student of the law school to do so in a wheelchair. He led a varied career, beginning with employment in private law firms, then working as a prosecutor for Canada Immigration, and finally becoming a legal writer to update a variety of legal text and reference books.
Personally, Mr. Gardner was passionate about his family. He learned Russian, the language of the homeland of the two children he and Karen adopted. He also became the talented piano player for many of Opening Nite Theatre's musical and theatrical productions.
John D'Arcy Gardner's passed away in late summer 2016.