Irwin Richard HARDY

HARDY, RUMFORD, FULTON, LUSK, JENSEN

Posted By: Sarah Thorson Little (email)
Date: 12/29/2011 at 23:20:50

July 4, 1926 --- December 27, 2011

Irwin Richard Hardy, age 85, of Osage, Iowa died Tuesday, December 27, 2011, at his residence in Osage. Memorial services will be held at 1:00 p.m. Tuesday, January 3, 2012, at Champion-Bucheit Funeral Home in Osage with Pastor Gary Gilbert officiating. There will be a flag presentation by Osage American Legion Post 278. A gathering of family and friends will be held from 4:00 to 7:00 p.m. Monday at the Champion-Bucheit Funeral Home. Inurnment will be at a later date at St. Francis Catholic Cemetery in Belmond, Iowa.

Irwin Richard Hardy was born July 4, 1926, at Clarion, Iowa, the son of Wesley and Charlotte (Rumford) Hardy. He attended grade school at Grant Number 8 and graduated from Clarion High School. He participated in wrestling and was a state qualifier in 1944. In the winter of 1944 he enlisted in the Air Cadet program and was called into active duty on January 1, 1945. He took basic training at Keesler Field in Biloxi, Mississippi, and went to gunnery school at Fort Meyers, Florida. Irwin spent most of 1946 at Erlangen, Germany with the Army of Occupation. On February 17, 1947, he married Nelda Fulton at St. Francis Xavier Rectory in Belmond. Irwin worked for Tomco Hybrids and then as an assistant hog buyer for Armour and Co. in Belmond until being transferred to the plant at Mason City in 1951. In 1964, the family moved to a farm near Stacyville, Iowa, where they lived until moving to Osage in 1981, where he resided until his death. Along with farming, Irwin worked at the Stacyville Co-op Elevator, McIntire Feed and Grain, and Lenth Feed Store. After moving to Osage, he worked for A to Z Drying. Irwin was active in the “Right to Life” movement and his poem, “Precious Ones” is engraved on a stone at Immaculate Conception Church in Riceville, Iowa. He enjoyed watching sports and his fantasy football league, as well as going to his grandchildren’s activities. He had a heart for the Lord and was happy and delighted to serve others.

Irwin is survived by his daughter, Charlotte Lusk of St. Ignatius, Montana, and her daughters, Mollie and Sarah; his daughter, Molly (Karl) Jensen of Mitchell; his son, Fred (Paula) Hardy of Stacyville, and their children, Susan and Wesley; his son, Leslie (Sara) Hardy of Orchard, and their children, Rachel and Danny. He had three great-grandchildren as well, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his wife, Nelda in 2008; his son-in-law, Roland Lusk; his parents; two brothers and three sisters, as well as many nieces and nephews. Champion - Bucheit Funeral Home, Osage, IA.

http://www.champion-bucheitfuneralhome.com/fh/obituaries/obituary.cfm?o_id=1350969&fh_id=12329