Leah M. Hardy 1929 - 2019

HARDY, NELSON, BEARDSHEAR

Posted By: Connie Swearingen (email)
Date: 9/19/2019 at 22:49:42

Sioux City Journal
8 May 2019

Sioux City

Leah M. Hardy, 89, of Sioux City, passed away on May 5, 2019 in Sioux City.

Services will be 10:30 a.m. Thursday at Cross Roads Evangelical Church in South Sioux City, 920 W. 21st St., in South Sioux City, with the Rev. Steve Woodall officiating. Burial will be in Omaha Valley Cemetery, Homer, Neb. Visitation will be 6 to 8 p.m. today at Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel in Sioux City. Online condolences may be expressed at www.meyerbroschapels.com.

The former Leah Beardshear was born on Sept. 2, 1929, in Homer, to Harvey and Mary (Nelson) Beardshear. She enjoyed growing up in Homer with lots of friends and family always around. She graduated from Homer High School in 1947. As a teenager, Leah enjoyed assisting her father, Harvey, as he built houses in the Homer area.

While working, he would tell her many stories of his life and family. She said it was peaceful and enjoyable working alongside her father. She also learned a strong work ethic from working with her dad so she understood how important it was to earn her own way in the world.

Leah started working during her teen years as a waitress at the restaurant in the old Mayfair Hotel in Sioux City. After graduating from high school, she continued working at various jobs, but the one she enjoyed the most was teaching first graders at two different schools in Phoenix, Ariz. After 20 years of teaching, she decided it was time to retire and spend time with her friends and family, including her husband, Joe Hardy, whom she spent 24 years with before he passed away in 1994.

Because she lived her life fully, she left behind many people to cherish many wonderful memories. Her son, Terry (Nell) Huffman of Takotna, Alaska; three daughters, Ariel Summerlin and her husband, Jay Atkinson of El Sobrante, Calif., Mary (Gary) Adams of Colfax, Iowa, and Molly Hildebrand of Sioux City; 15 grandchildren; 27 great-grandchildren; seven great-great-grandchildren; one sister, Neva Nickum of McCook Lake, S.D.; and many cousins, nieces, nephews and extended family members.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Joe; parents, Harvey and Mary Beardshear; two brothers, Dale and Lorn Beardshear; one sister, Vera McCoy; and one grandson, Tyron Millwee.