Scott Gardner was a fighter. He walked out of the hospital the day after his second brain surgery with a big smile on his face.

He was also a lover. Gardner, who was married almost 11 years, could brighten any room with his smile, his wife Tawnya said. He was also a good dad.

“He always wanted to go pick up his kids and go get ice cream,” Tawnya said. “He couldn’t stand to be a way from them. He was an impeccable father.”

Scott, 40, died Thursday after battling brain cancer for more than a year. His funeral service was Monday.

“He had the biggest smile,” Tawnya said.

A life-long Austin resident, Scott worked at Hormel Foods and Quality Pork Processors for much of his adult career. He also played billiards, palled around with his brother on camping or fishing trips, coached and played softball, and was involved with various Austin Parks and Recreations events.

For a brief time in 2012, he returned to working as a behavior modification analyst for a special needs group home that was coming to Austin.

“He was good at it, right where he should have been.” Tawnya said.

He had passed his licensure testing while experiencing some headaches off and on, but no one thought anything of it at first. When his symptoms worsened, he went to the doctor.

A December 2012 MRI scan in Austin revealed a mass on his brain. Scott was taken to Rochester to have the tumor diagnosed.

It was then he found out he had glioblastoma multiforme, which doctors estimated had been growing for nine months by that point. His friends and family say that was the worst kind of brain cancer to have.

A week later, surgeons removed 95 percent of the tumor, which was baseball- to softball-sized. Scott, who had a reputation for his good spirits, had a smile on his face only 12 hours after the operation. He started regular treatments after the operation.

In addition, he had to step away from softball and other activities as his eyesight grew worse. Not bad enough for Scott to still beat his wife at pool, however.

“He beat me with a four-rail eight ball shot right after he got out of the hospital,” Tawyna said. “No one does that! He just said ‘I’ll try it,’ and he did it.”

His MRI scans looked positive for about six months before his cancer returned in the same place doctors previously removed a tumor. Despite doctors initially telling the family Scott couldn’t go through brain surgery twice, they believed they could remove the latest tumor with no issues.

Scott went through another round of surgery and for a while things continued to look promising, as he went through chemotherapy for six weeks along with radiation five days a week.

Yet several months ago, doctors advised Scott to discontinue treatment. His cancer had spread to the central part of his brain, which controlled his motor functions. At that point, Scott’s cancer had intertwined with much of his brain, making it impossible for further treatment.

Though Scott’s family wished for a miracle, Scott’s health declined.

“It was overnight: One day he was up and walking around, and the next he needed 24-hour care,” Tawnya said.

Despite it all, Scott still managed to brighten the room.

“Whenever someone would come in, Scott would turn and smile at them,” Tawnya said. “His eyes were glazed over, but he was trying to make people feel welcome.”

Scott leaves behind his wife and three children, Jared, Jacob and Tori all of Austin. He was buried next to his grandmother, something Tawnya said was very important to Scott.

And though he is gone, his friends and family still remember how much he lit up a room.

“People were very warmed by him; he was something else,” Tawnya said. “He just always had so many people that loved being around him.”