A retired rancher, Pete called Port Lavaca home for the last 35 years, though he frequently made visits to his Yancey ranch. He enjoyed farm and ranch work, horseback riding, and hunting. He farmed in Medina and Frio counties for many years and took big game hunting trips on horseback into his late 80s.
Calvin married Nancy Jane Harper from Devine on Aug 25, 1948. He farmed and ranched while Jane ran a flower shop in Devine. After a visit to Africa to see their daughter in the Peace Corp, they decided they wanted to see more of the country. From 1980 – 1981 he and Jane lived in Tanzania, Africa near Iringa on the Dabaga Seed Farm as manager of seed production on a joint venture project between the US Government and the Tanzanian Government. He also participated in many big game hunts while stationed there.
From 1981 – 1984 he took an appointment with Agricultural Cooperative Development Inc. as an agricultural consultant in Egypt on the Small Farmer Production Project through the U.S. Agency for International Development. He took part in numerous farm aid and training programs in other countries including Bolivia and the Czech Republic.
Calvin managed rental properties in Port Lavaca and held a real estate brokers license. He and Jane continued to travel to over 30 other countries.
Survivors include his daughter Terry Lee (Hardt) Jacques of Alexandria, Va., son Kenneth Harper Hardt (Tammy) of Port Lavaca, granddaughter Heather Powell and great-granddaughter Charlotte Powell of Tulsa, Ok., granddaughters Brittany Garner Valencia and Taylor Garner Salinas of Port Lavaca, cousins Henry David Hardt of Waco and Annanelle Hardt of Tempe, Ariz., nieces and nephews Tim, Tony and Brenda (Hardt) Groff of Hondo, Jim Koehler of Pflugerville, William Koehler of Batavia, IL., Robert Hardt of Collegeville, PA., Laura (Hardt) Abramson of Bala Cynwyd, PA. and Charles Hardt of Exton, PA.
He was preceded in death by his wife, and his siblings Richard Wilburn Hardt, Lloyd Emmett Hardt, and Ruth Caroline Hardt Koehler.
Visitation will be at Richardson Funeral Home, Port Lavaca on Monday April 25 from 4:00-6:00PM. Graveside services will be at Oakwood Cemetery in Hondo on Tuesday, April 26 at 1:00PM.
