Mary Rogers Hardy, 90, formerly of Charleston, SC, died Thursday, May 26, 2011 at her son’s home.
Graveside services will be held at 2:00 PM, Sunday June 5, 2011, in Dothan Cemetery in Dillon, SC. Visitation will be held from 7:00 – 8:30 PM, Saturday June 4, 2011 at Kannaday Funeral Home in Dillon.
A daughter of the late Mary Bertha Harper and Albert Luther Rogers, she was born October 13,1920, in Marion, SC. She was preceded in death by her husband, Colonel Preston Bethea Hardy, USAF, in March 1985. She was a devoted military wife, mother and homemaker and kept the home fires burning while her husband fought in two wars.
She grew up on a farm during the Great Depression and learned to cook and sew. After graduating Limestone College, she worked as a federal home demonstration agent. Later, as she traveled the world as a military wife, she became a renowned gourmet cook whose invitations to dinner were never declined. As a seamstress, she visited the great fashion houses of Paris to make copies of haute couture clothing for her daughters. She worked as a substitute teacher and after retirement became a real estate developer.
Survivors include her sons, Tim (Dawn) Hardy of Kathleen, GA, and Preston Bethea (Patricia) Hardy, Jr. of Martin, TN; daughters, Mary MacLeod (Jerry) Bellune of Lexington, SC, and Coline (Larry) McNew of Niceville, FL; and ten grandchildren. Heritage Memorial Funeral Home and Crematory is in charge of local arrangements and Kannaday Funeral Home is in charge of arrangements in Dillon, SC.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Old Dothan Cemetery Association, P. O. Box 205, Latta, SC 29565 or the American Diabetes Association at http://www.diabetes.org. You may sign the guest book at www.kannadayfuneralhome.com.