Nancy Hardwick can hardly control her laughter when talking about her father, Les Hardwick.
She can’t help but remember how much he loved life and the little things he did to make it more enjoyable for others.
“The thing I learned recently was how much my friends enjoyed him,” said Hardwick, of Albuquerque, N.M. “He was so good with children, always mentoring them or teaching them something. And through that, he was able to share the great joys of his life.”
Lester Shivers Hardwick, of Canton, died Saturday from complications of Alzheimer’s disease. He was 86. A service has been scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Thursday at Antioch Christian Church, Canton. Ingram Funeral Home & Crematory is in charge.
A native Atlantan — he attended E. Rivers Elementary in Buckhead — Hardwick went to the University of Georgia, leaving in 1945 for the U.S. Army, where he packed parachutes.
Returning to Atlanta after his service, he eventually got into the insurance business and befriended several movers and shakers in the area. He was thus was able to witness Atlanta transform from the inside, said his stepson, Channel 2 Action News evening anchor Justin Farmer.
“His friends were iconic and larger than life, like Bobby Jones, Rankin Smith and Ivan Allen,” Farmer said. “In many ways, he is part of that dying generation of people who took our city, which is now a global, international and Olympic-hosting city, and helped transform it from a little Southern town.”
Though his friends were among the most well-known in town, Hardwick was just as comfortable getting to know the everyday man or woman on the street, said his nephew, Tommy Tift III, of Atlanta.
“He just had a real love of people, along with his love for life,” he said. “He could be at a fancy party and have just as much fun talking to the people working at the party as he could the people who were hosting the party. That’s just the kind of guy he was.”
Hardwick was dedicated to his family and even more so to his second wife DeAnn. He devoted the last six years of his life caring for his wife of 32 years after she suffered two strokes, Farmer said.
“She has a pretty strong quality of life, thanks to Les,” he said. “He was devoted to her life and her health and made her laugh, up until the very end. He was so generous, not just with my mother, but with everyone.”
In addition to his wife, daughter and stepson, survivors include his stepdaughter, Laurie Farmer Thannisch of Atlanta; and eight grandchildren.
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