Jennie Lynn Hardesty of Cuero and Victoria passed into heaven on July 28, 2021 after a long battle with cancer. She was 71 years old. She was born December 12, 1949 in Victoria, TX to Samuel Perry Neill, Jr. of Victoria and Bessie Janota Garner of Hallettsville, TX.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard Kyle Hardesty, her father, Samuel Perry Neill Jr., and her sister Nancy Ann Neill.
She is survived by her mother; her sister, Bess Beliveaux of Hallettsville; her brother, Samuel Perry Neill, III of Victoria; her son, John Thomas Hardesty; her daughter, Anne Marie Walker; her grandchildren, Elizabeth Rachel Michel, Rebekah Lynn Hardesty, Bethany Kate Hardesty, Avery Mae Walker, and Josie Beth Walker; and two great-grandchildren, Aiden Kyle Michel and Eva Lynn Michel.
Jennie taught in Victoria ISD and Windham ISD until retirement, teaching students Math and Computer Science for decades. She had a passion for horses, birds, gardening, and dancing, and she filled her days with outdoor activities from dawn until dusk. To her, owning a horse was not a matter of life and death, it was much more important than that. Never one to give up, Jennie swiftly transitioned to horse drawn buggies when an injury left her unable to ride horses and rode many more miles with local trail riding clubs. She was always ready to meet new people and help them in any way she could.
Jennie was a beloved daughter, wife, mother, aunt, grandmother, and great-grandmother. She raised a son and a daughter and taught each of her five granddaughters many precious things. She doted on her great-grandson and great-granddaughter and never missed an opportunity to spend time with them. Jennie had a habit of making lifelong friends and new family – men and women, boys and girls – who she welcomed into her heart and life.
As Jennie wrote many years ago, “Let each man search his soul long enough to discover that love is the reason for living.”
Visitation for family and friends will be Tuesday, August 3, 2021 from 5-7 PM at Rosewood Funeral Chapel.
A funeral service will be held Wednesday, August 4, 2021 at 10 am with Pastor Paul Valdez officiating. Burial will immediately follow at Shillerville Cemetery.
Pallbearers will be Stephen Kyle Mills, Alex Michel, Hayden Vela, Hollis Vela, Ian Beliveaux, Sam Neill IV, Nathan Neill and Lonnie Pope.
Memorial donations may be made to The Richard Kyle Hardesty Memorial Endowed Scholarship, The Texas A&M Foundation,401 George Bush Dr. College Station, TX 77840 or Shillerville Cemetery, P.O. Box 1844, Victoria, TX 77902.
Words of comfort may be shared at www.rosewoodfuneralchapel.com
