William "Bill" E. Hardy Jr.

William E. Hardy Jr. passed away September 10, 2014 at the age of 87. Bill, as he was known by most, was born to Chester and William E. Hardy, Sr. in Memphis, TN and lived most of his life in Mississippi. Bill was preceded in death by Barbara Given, his loving wife of 64 years. He was a World War II Army veteran. He graduated from Raleigh (MS) High School, Mississippi College and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, TX.

Bill and Barbara lived in Tennessee, Texas, Mississippi and Wyoming. He served as Minister of Education for Woodland Hills Baptist Church, Jackson, First Baptist Church, Kosciusko, First Baptist Church, Columbus (MS) and the Wyoming Southern Baptist Convention. His work with Wyoming SBC was a fulfillment of a dream that he and Barbara had talked about for a number of years. After his retirement from Wyoming, Bill and Barbara moved to Clinton to be near their children and grandchildren. He served part time as the Partnership Missions Coordinator for the Mississippi Baptist Convention Board in Jackson, and worked with Wynndale Baptist Church of Terry, MS. During his work with missions, partnerships were established between Mississippi and Ukraine, Zimbabwe and Honduras, among others, to help spread the Gospel and support mission work in those countries.

Bill and Barbara enjoyed rich relationships with their children and grandchildren, their Sunday school class at First Baptist Church in Clinton, the Mississippi College Eaters group and the Religious Education retired group. Bill could always come up with a humorous story or joke in almost any setting and he loved to laugh. He was described by many as a patient, loving, kind and gentle man. He demonstrated this even to the caregivers and others he was with at the Mississippi State Veterans Home in Jackson, where he lived since 2011.

The family would like to express deep gratitude to the nurses and caregivers of the Mississippi State Veterans Home in Jackson for their compassionate care of Bill during the last three years of his life.

Bill is survived by his three children, Barry Hardy (Holly) of Madison, MS, Beverly Hardy Coleman (Cliff) of Clinton, MS, and Bruce Hardy (Rhonda) of Lawrenceville, GA. He is also survived by six grandsons and one granddaughter and their spouses, and by eight great-grandsons and one great-granddaughter. He is survived by one sister, Quay Hardy Miller of Jackson. Bill's six grandsons will serve as pallbearers.

Visitation will be in the sanctuary of First Baptist Church of Clinton on Friday, 5:30-7:30 PM and Saturday, 10-11 AM, and the funeral Saturday at 11 AM. Burial will be following the funeral at Lakewood Memorial Park. Lakewood Funeral Home is handling arrangements.

The family requests that in lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to the Barbara G. and W.E. Hardy, Jr scholarship fund at the Mississippi Baptist Foundation, P.O. Box 530, Jackson, MS 39205 or to First Baptist Church of Clinton, MS.