Donald D. Hardy

Donald Dean Hardy, 79, died December 7, 2017, at home in Grand Forks, North Dakota, surrounded by family. Donald was born on October 3, 1938, to Goldie (Martinson) and Claude Hardy in Argyle, Minnesota. The youngest of six children, he was a hellion. After a brief stint in jail at 8-years-old for theft of poultry and potatoes, his family relocated to Chicago, Illinois. It’s there, in his teenage years, he worked at Wilson factory stitching footballs and baseball gloves, spending his hard-earned money on blue suede shoes and smokes for hanging out on the corner.   He was drafted to the U.S. Army, 1st Battalion, 3D Regiment, Company B on Pearl Harbor Day in 1961. He was stationed in New Orleans, Louisiana, where he continued to practice hellion ways under the supervision of nickel beers. Discharged from the service, he returned to North Dakota for a time, before moving to Flint, Michigan, looking for work at the factories. In the late fall of 1966, he met Gail at a local drinking establishment. With Don’s inherent charm and Gail’s outgoing personality, they caught each other's eye. Little did they know, that night was the beginning of a life-long commitment. The two married at The Church of Nazarene in Flint on October 21, 1967, surrounded by Gail’s children Joyce, Mark, Bob, Vickie and Steve. His family thought he was crazy. We’re eternally thankful he became ours. Shortly thereafter, they packed up a U-Haul truck, their ‘59 Chevy and moved to Grand Forks to start their new life near Don's family. He became a pipefitter for Local 300, never missing a day of work. In 1971, Shannon joined the mix as they were settling into the rhythm of a new town and family dynamic. In the following years, Donald kept himself busy. He often worked out of town on Union jobs during the week, returning on Friday night with his family waiting for him to go out for dinner at Italian Moon, Speedway, Bronze Boot and later Texas Roadhouse. He loved working on his house and yard on 17th Avenue, winning the “Yard of the Week” award. Donald retired in 1999, and soon took on the official title of “Gramps.” He drove around town in his red ‘94 S10 pickup, taking ownership of drop-off and pickup at school and various activities. He enjoyed collecting and displaying his grandchildren’s artwork and giving them wet willies. He was also Gramps to all of the half-pints at Shannon’s daycare and the children he monitored at Dietrich Bus Services. In the end, he had eight grandchildren, six great grandchildren, and many more to claim as his own. Donald’s greatest passion of all was imparting all that wisdom he had stored up in that big head of his. The most important, "If you don’t love yourself, no one else will." Oh boy, did he love himself. We loved him more, and when he left us* he joined many others who have been waiting to welcome him, including his parents, siblings and son Bob. *This is us: Joyce Baker; Cody Kelly; Nicole Kelly-Sims, Emily and Jacob Sims (Wade, Carter and Lily Miller) Mark Monroe Vickie and Matt; Curt, Piper, Riel and Nolan; Katie; Elizabeth (Mike Peterson) Misialek Steve, Marsha and Parker Monroe   Shannon, Lee, Madison and Hallee Kozel A celebration of life ceremony will be held at Calvary Lutheran Church on Tuesday, December 12. Address is 1405 South 9th Street, Grand Forks. Visitation will take place an hour before the 2:00 p.m. service. Donald was very clear that any in memoriam offerings should be donations made in his name to the Grand Forks Veteran’s Memorial Park fund. Learn more about how to do personal interest gifts to this specific park.