Coleman John Hardy Jr.

Coleman John Hardy, Jr. was born December 19th, 1933, in Rapid City, S.D. Soon after, his family relocated to the mountains of North Alabama where he was raised.

Times were tough during those Depression years. At 6 years old, John began working in the cotton fields, picking cotton by hand, and farming the land to help feed his family. This instilled a strong work ethic in John that would remain for his entire life. When he wasn’t working, he enjoyed being a big brother to his two siblings.

At a time when work took precedence over education in North Alabama, John’s mother insisted on making education a priority for him. Reading materials were hard to come by, and she taught John to read by using labels on cans.

John started school a year early. John did well academically, but when he reached High School, he noticed he was the only one wearing hand-me-down clothes with holes in them. When the other students began to make fun of him, he decided to make a change that would greatly impact the rest of his life.

John enrolled at the Mt. Berry School for Boys in Rome, GA., a high school for poor mountain boys who would work on campus full time to earn credits to pay for their tuition as well as room & board. The work and academics were tough, but John fell in love with the beauty of the 28,000-acre campus and the Christian-based ministry. He made many life-long friends during his time there and looked forward to returning to campus every chance he had.

John was valedictorian for the Class of 1951. His attempts to enroll at Berry College to continue his education were thwarted as there were no open spots available to him. The college was packed full of young men seeking to evade the draft during the Korean War. John then went to work at Sears & Roebuck on Ponce DeLeon Ave. in Atlanta.

It didn’t take John long to realize staying in one spot for very long was not for him. He read a job advertisement in the newspaper seeking “young men willing to travel.” John answered the ad and soon was hired on at Western Electric, where he spent 38 years installing phone offices across the southeast.

John traveled from the Carolinas to Miami for work until being drafted in 1956. John spent the next 2 years serving in the U.S. Army as a communications specialist. He was stationed in Germany and used his time off to travel extensively through Europe.

Upon separation from the Army, John returned to Western Electric. During one of his work assignments in Charlotte, N.C., he met the love of his life, Joanne Caudle. Joanne had grown up a poor, farm girl in Marshville, N.C., and they had much in common. They have been inseparable ever since. They were married on March 4, 1961, and eventually settled in Pensacola where they raised their 2 children, Steve & Gail. John worked many long hours to provide for his family.

Upon retirement, John was still haunted by the memory of being turned away from Berry College. Nervously, John began taking classes at Pensacola Junior College. Pretty soon, he discovered that he could keep up with the younger students - “except in the parking lot.” John received his AA degree in May of 1994, and was awarded a scholarship to the University of West Florida. John earned his Bachelor of Arts in History from UWF in 1996.

But the vast majority of John’s retirement years were spent being a loving grandfather. His own grandfather wasn’t around much, and John was determined to leave a lasting impression on his grandkids. He could usually be found in the backyard playing ball with Sean & Kendall, or playing dress up with Brooke. He never missed a baseball game or dance recital.

When he wasn’t with the grandkids, he was in his garden. John’s garden was a source of pride and joy for him. He always planted much more than he could use and gave away the surplus to family and friends.

John was a longtime member and deacon at Scenic Heights Baptist Church, until its demise. He then moved his membership to East Brent Baptist Church where he continued his service. He loved his church families. John was a Mason and a Shriner. He was good friend who never turned down a request for help. He had a joke or kind word for everyone he met. He loved fishing, Alabama football, reading novels and going to the gym.

Most importantly, John loved the Lord, his wife, family and friends.

John was preceded in death by his parents, Coleman and Ines Hardy, his daughter, Gail Hardy Hendry, and his brother, Frank Hardy. He is survived by his wife of 64 years, Joanne Caudle Hardy, his son, Steve (Valerie) Hardy, his sister, Irene Hardy Maguire, 2 grandsons, Sean (Haley) Hendry and Kendall Hendry, granddaughter Brooke Hardy, grand-dog Miko, and numerous nieces and nephews who thought the world of him.

A visitation for Coleman will be held Thursday, August 7, 2025 from 10:00 AM to 11:30 AM at Eastern Gate Memorial Funeral Home, 1985 West Nine Mile Road, Pensacola, FL 325349377. A funeral service will occur at 11:30 AM officiated by Pastor Dale Patterson with a committal service following at Eastern Gate Memorial Gardens.

Pallbearers are Sean Hendry, Kendall Hendry, James Hendry, Jim Ward, Sam Bass and Douglas Azaert.