Nancy Long Death, Obituary – One of the most popular times of year to visit the collection of stores known as Gardner Village in West Jordan is during the holiday season, which begins in December when the flying witches with pointed hats are replaced by elves dressed in Christmas sweaters and floppy hats. Snow falls heavily throughout the winter, covering the ancient buildings, charming shops, and Archibald’s Restaurant on several days. The vision of Nancy Long is largely responsible for the gorgeous setting that now exists here. Long, the founder of the town, lost his battle with muscular dystrophy and suffered from post-stroke problems before passing away on November 21. It was the year 82.
Not only does she leave behind a shopping village that serves as a time capsule, but she also instils an entrepreneurial drive in her children. Her legacy encompasses both of these things. “She was always kind of shocking people,” her son Joe Long, who co-manages the village with his sister Angie Gerdes, said about his mother. “She was always kind of shocking people.” “I believe that her generosity and kindness were significant components of who she was, without a doubt.” But then she’d do things merely to make people laugh and catch everyone’s attention. Although Long spent her childhood in Utah, she was born in Barnstable, which is located in Massachusetts. According to her son, she was resourceful and had an uncanny ability to launch businesses with very little initial capital.
He described her as a “complete original” and a “enterprise builder” in his words. Long fell in love with the ancient Gardner Mill in 1979 and made the decision to buy it without telling anyone, which was typical behaviour for Long, according to her son. This was the beginning of the path that led to the creation of Gardner Village. After Long’s divorce, her plans for the property swiftly shifted, and she no longer intended to construct a house there for her family to live in. Since she already had experience in the furniture business, she made the decision to open a rural furniture store.
Long only owned a small portion of the land that would eventually become Gardner Village, back when it was not yet a well-known location for shopping. In order to make room for a West Jordan Fire Department training center, the first acre of the village was completely covered in buildings that were in the process of being prepared for demolition. A year later, Long purchased the adjacent seven acres, which is where the majority of the village sits today. With this purchase, Long transformed a piece of property that was once considered unsalvageable into a landmark in West Jordan that has even been used as a film location.