Michael Hardy

Michael Thomas Hardy, 87, passed away on 3/1/2024, leaving behind his wife of 63 years, Judy Hardy, daughter Lynnette Johnson (Kent), son Timothy Hardy (Jennifer), and grandchildren - Derek (Eleanor) Johnson, Kate Johnson, Griffin Hardy, Emma Hardy, Ryan (Soyeon) Weber, Megan Weber, and Paige Foster.

Mike was known for his sense of humor, his talent in photography, and his love of travel. He will be greatly missed by his family and friends.

Mike was the youngest of 3 children born to Raymond and Mary Hardy in Chicago, Illinois on 10/20/1936. He is preceded in death by his brother William Hardy and sister Rae Haas. He grew up in Chicago and the western suburbs, graduating from Carl Schurz High School. Mike loved cars and owned Corvette convertibles when he was young, even buying a dune buggy in the 1970s which his children and all the neighborhood kids would beg for rides in.

Mike served in the U.S. Army from 1955 to 1957 and, after tank training, was shipped to Germany to patrol the German/Soviet border (Iron Curtain) from the Weiden Border Camp. He left the Army as a Corporal having earned Sharpshooter, Marksman, and Good Conduct Medals, and was in the Army Reserves until 1963.

After marrying Judy on June 10, 1961, in her hometown of Freeport, IL, the newlyweds bought a house in Mount Prospect, Illinois and had their two children, Lynnette and Tim. Over the years, Mike worked in production and inventory management for Imperial Eastman in Niles, IL, and Buehler Ltd. in Lake Forest, IL. He was an avid vegetable gardener and used a large section of the backyard to grow cucumbers, green peppers, and the most delicious tomatoes - his specialty. He even experimented with corn, hot peppers, and cotton, just for fun. He loved the old-time radio shows from his childhood as well as classical jazz music, which he would listen to when he worked around the house. Before they retired, Mike and Judy traveled extensively in the U.S. visiting 31 states and many National Parks. Favorites were Yellowstone, Yosemite, Glacier, and the Grand Canyon where they went river rafting. They retired to Tucson, AZ in 2000 and both loved the climate and beautiful mountain views from their home in Saddlebrooke.

Mike’s biggest and most long-term hobby was photography. He took classes to hone his skills, read many books, and practiced all the time by taking a ton of photos of his children, grandchildren, and on vacations over the years. In the 1970s he experimented with antique cameras from the 1930s and 1940s, taking them on vacations to see how they worked and what results he could achieve. During this time he played with trick photography, doing double exposure and other fun photos. He enjoyed teaching himself new techniques, and learned sports and action photography by following his son’s sports teams, especially football. The family would often go to car races so he could work on these skills. He also taught himself how to use Photoshop and liked sending family and friends manipulated photos to make them laugh, often using himself as a subject - him as a leprechaun or replacing himself in a vacation photo with good-looking celebrities, George Clooney being a favorite. What everyone admired the most, however, was his talent for nature photography. Although he was very modest about his skills, his amazing photos of Bryce Canyon, Arizona sunsets, and more are hung throughout his house.

Mike and Judy’s love of travel took them to 34 countries on five continents after retirement, often traveling with friends. They took river cruises on both the Rhine (visiting the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Switzerland) and Danube (Budapest, Hungary to Austria to Germany). They saw amazing European cities like Paris, London, Prague, Madrid, and Lisbon, Portugal and took multiple trips to Italy, seeing Venice, Florence, Rome, and Portofino. Mike convinced his wife to go on an African photo safari in Kenya (his photos from this trip are incredible) and on a tour through China where they saw the terracotta warriors and the Great Wall in Beijing, cruised on the Yangtze river, and took a trip to Tibet. They went through the Panama Canal and visited other Central American countries like Costa Rica, Honduras, and Guatemala. Canada was another destination, including Toronto, and Alberta, British Columbia (Banff National Park), as well as trips to Mexico to the Baja Peninsula, Mexico City, and Cancun to see Chichen Itza.

When home in Saddlebrooke, Mike played poker with friends for 20 years, enjoyed taking care of his yard (he tried to recreate his success from the Midwest with home-grown tomatoes but eventually had to admit defeat), swam and played basketball in the pool, maintained the Old Time Radio Club’s website, and was known in the neighborhood for his early morning walks.

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Senior Village at Saddlebrooke at https://seniorvillage.org/donors/. Mike will be dearly missed by those who knew him, may he rest in peace.