Josephine Jenkins Hardin

Josephine Jenkins Hardin, a promising young attorney and beloved daughter, tragically passed away on July 4, 2025, in the devastating floods that swept through Kerr County, Texas. She was at the family's vacation home in Hunt, Texas, with her mother, Alyson Crouch Hardin, and father, Bill Hardin, when the Guadalupe River surged, cresting and collapsing their residence. Josephine and her mother, Alyson, both perished. Her father, Bill, survived.

Josephine, named for her great aunt Josephine Crouch Sherfy, a 1945 graduate of the University of Texas in Austin, was born at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta. She benefited from the love and caring of the Starkville, Mississippi State University community as a child. She excelled when moving to South Florida completing elementary and middle school with a group of lifelong friends. Josephine was an alumna of the Webb School in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, 2015 and the University of the South at Sewanee, graduating in 2019. After a year working in Spain, and following the lead of her great grandmother, Olivia Jenkins Hardin, one of the first women to practice law in the State of Tennessee, she continued her education at Emory University School of Law, graduating in 2023. At Emory, she served as the editor-in-chief of the Emory International Law Review and was designated a David J. Bederman Fellow of International Law.

After law school, Josephine joined the law firm of Huff, Powell & Bailey in Atlanta. She was recognized for her commitment to community service, volunteering with the Atlanta Community Food Bank and the Georgia Society of Healthcare Risk Managers. Her firm described her as a natural leader, creating deep and meaningful friendships, and being "smart and beautifully quirky."

Josephine also held special memories of Camp Mystic, an all-girls Christian summer camp, where she was a camper and counselor from the age of eight. She was a collector of friends and many of her closest friendships were made at Camp Mystic, Webb, Sewanee, and Emory Law.

She is survived by her father, Bill Hardin, and four aunts: Jennifer Crouch Ellis, husband Steve; Kimberly Crouch, husband Steve Brown; Elizabeth A. Hardin, also her godmother, and husband Geoff McLaughlin; and Melinda Hardin Koenigsberg and husband Sammy. She leaves fourteen cousins by birth and choice who cherished her joyful spirit. She will inspire countless friends from schools, work, and community to love themselves and their neighbors. Josephine's vibrant spirit and dedication to helping others will be deeply missed by her family, friends, and the legal community.

The family welcomes donations of time, caring, and capacity to any organization serving the community. Specific options include the ones noted below.

• A gift to any organization of your choosing.

• A gift to the Josephine J. Hardin scholarship at the Webb School in Bell Buckle, Tennessee, from which Bill and Josephine graduated. Josephine was a fourth-generation Webb student. Gifts can be made online at https://www.thewebbschool.com/support-webb/give-now or by mail to The Webb School, 319 Webb Road East, Bell Buckle, TN 37020. For assistance, contact Jonathon Hawkins, [email protected]., (931) 389-5769

• A gift to Sewanee: The University of the South, to support the Alyson C. and Josephine J. Hardin scholarship. Alyson and Josephine were Sewanee alumnae. Gifts can be made online: https://www.givecampus.com/campaigns/65508/donations/new?a=10670160

For assistance, contact Terri Griggs Williams at [email protected], 931-598-1128.

• A gift to Florida International University to support the Alyson C. and Josephine J. Hardin endowed scholarship: https://fundraise.givesmart.com/form/XBu2ZA?vid=1kmw4e