Gardner R. Withrow, the son of Captain Thomas Withrow and Helen, was born in La Crosse, Wisconsin on October 5, 1892. He received a high school degree and two years of legal training prior to going to work for the Chicago, Burlington and Quincey Railroad (1912-1931) as a fireman and later as a conductor. In 1917 he served in the Sanitation Corps in the Mexican Border War. From 1928 to 1931 he served as state representative of the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen.
In 1926 he was elected to the State Assembly where he served as a member of the Joint Finance Committee. In 1930 he was elected to the House of Representatives as a Republican, beginning his long career as a member of that body. He was re-elected in 1932, 1934, 1936 and 1938, the last two times as a Progressive. From 1940 to 1948 Withrow was out of office and during this time resumed his activities as the state representative of the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen. He returned to the House in 1948, again as a Republican, and continued to hold office until 1960 when he did not seek re-election. He died in 1964; he is survived by his wife Anne, and by his brother, Arthur.
For early (1911-1918) Withrow family correspondence, the researcher is referred to the Frank Withrow collection (LaCMssAE). Frank Withrow, Gardner's brother, was a lawyer in La Crosse, Wisconsin from about 1909 to 1919.
