Antonio Gardner Obituary

Antonio Jamall Gardner, 34, was born on August 3, 1990, in Pine Bluff, Ark., the fifth child of his parents Alex and Patricia Smith. His family affectionately called him AJ or Tonio most of the time, but to his mother he was her 'Special Baby' and she loved him dearly.
Antonio attended school in the Pine Bluff school district and graduated from Pine Bluff High in 2009. In the fall of 2009, he finished a semester at Southeast Arkansas College before attending the Arkansas Career Training Institute in Hot Springs, Ark., where he completed his studies and received a certificate of completion for Construction Technology in December of 2011. After returning to Pine Bluff, he worked for the Jenkins Workshop for approximately four years. He went on to attend Arkansas Enterprise for the Developmentally Disabled and was later employed by Reliable Facilities Service in Little Rock, Ark., until covid forced the shutdown of the facility and the loss of that job in March of 2020. Three months later another job came through for him at Food for Good, which is where he worked until his untimely death. Antonio loved playing his video games and watching wresting on TV.
He was baptized at an early age under the Leadership of the late Pastor C. L. Williams of the Smith Chapel M.B. Church in Pine Bluff, Ark., and was active in Sunday School and Church Services on Sunday mornings.
Antonio was preceded in death by his Grandparents, Alexander and Arnettie Smith, the late Isaac Scott and two uncles, Zachary Scott and Charles E. Barkins.
He leaves to cherish his memories his parents, Alex and Patricia Smith; four brothers, Alex Smith Jr. (Melissa), Pine Bluff, Ark., Marcus Smith (Kelli), Pine Bluff, Ark., Alex Smith, Malvern, Ark., Joseph Paschall, Detroit, Michigan; two sisters, Alexis Smith, Pine Bluff, Ark., Dominique Gardner, San Marcos, Texas; his Grandmother, Mary Scott; a host of Uncles, Aunts, cousins; 15 nieces and nephews; family members and friends, who loved him dearly.
Visitation is scheduled from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday July 16, 2025, at Brown Funeral Home, 2704 Commerce Circle, Pine Bluff, Ark.
The funeral is scheduled at 10 a.m. on Thursday July 17, 2025, at the Brown Funeral Home Chapel with interment immediately following at Forest Lawn Cemetery and Repass at the Living Word Baptist Church Fellowship Hall, 5617 Sulphur Springs Rd, Pine Bluff, Ark.
Obituary submitted by The Family.
Brown Funeral Home (Pine Bluff)