William Paul Hardwick

William Paul Hardwick passed away on November 17, 2015 at Swedish Medical Center at the age of 87. Born on October 20, 1928, on the farm in Dundy county, Nebraska, to Thomas Mandeville Hardwick and Myrtle Rowena (Quimby) Hardwick, he was the ninth of ten children. He attended District #24 country school and was graduated from Parks, Nebraska, High School in 1947. After high school, he enlisted in the United States Army and was discharged as a Staff Sergeant after 3 1/2 years, 13 months of which were in Japan and a like number in Korea during the Korean War. At the time of his death, he was a member of ""The Chosin Few"", an organization of veterans who were serving in North Korea when the Chinese entered the war and pushed the United Nations forces out of North Korea. Bill also held memberships in the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and the Methodist church. He took advantage of his GI Bill benefits and attended Kearney State Teachers College (now University of Nebraska-Kearney) and received his Bachelor's Degree with majors in Speech, English, and Education. He did one summer of graduate work at Kearney and another summer at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. While in college, Bill decided that he wanted to spend his life in public service, not in the private sector. He chose teaching first, followed by many years of service with the Veterans Administration. On February 15, 1957, he and Annette Kay Borchert married at Kearney, Nebraska, and two daughters, Debra Shawn and Chana Sue, blessed their marriage. Bill's second marriage was to Deanna Baker on Mar. 17, 1989, in Winter Haven, Florida. He was baptized in the First United Methodist Church in Colby, Kansas, in 1957 and remained true to that faith, serving in several administrative capacities while living in Virginia. Bill taught senior English in Nebraska high schools for eight years at Benkelman, Wauneta, and York. He then joined the Veterans Administration in Lincoln, Nebraska, and retired some 20+ years later in Washington, DC after spending time in the Lincoln, NE, Denver, CO, and Washington, DC VA offices, with a six-month voluntary overseas tour in Vietnam and two short assignments in Europe. He visited most of the VA offices in the US. Bill loved country music and country-western dancing which he taught for a little over 10 years in Virginia and Florida. While in Florida he and his wife, Deanna, formed and led a performance group, the Polk Kounty Kikkers, who performed at many places including retirement homes, mobile-home parks, community celebrations, the Polk County fair, the State Fair in Tampa, and the Pirate's Ball in Orlando. He was a charter member of the Northern Virginia Country-Western Dance Association and the Polk County Country-Western Dance Association in Florida. He loved college athletics, particularly the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Three special times of the year for him were the college football season and bowl games, ""March Madness"", and the College World Series. He was a huge fan of the Colorado Rockies. Bill strongly believed in family and history. He compiled a very extensive history of the Hardwick family, titled ""Memories of Hardwicks"", and did a similar history for his friend, Deanna, in Florida, titled ""Leaving A Legacy"", a history of the Shampine family. He took pictures of all activities, his family, family reunions, vacations, special events, etc., etc., and placed all of them on CDs and DVDs and gave them to family members to keep. As a member of the Dundy County Historical Society, he took digital pictures of gravestones in the county and placed over 10, 000 pictures on the Internet. He also updated and computerized the burial books for each cemetery and transcribed the thousands of obituaries which had been collected by members of the Society. Survivors include his former wife Deanna plus his two devoted daughters and their husbands, Debra and Ron Leonard and Chana and Kelly Guy. Beloved grandchildren include Michael Guy, Jared Guy, Holly Guy, Cari and Jason Wood, and Kristy Jo Leonard. Just as special to him were his great grandchildren--JC and Tawnee Guy, Avery Guy, and Lizzie and Andy Wood. Surviving also are a number of nieces and nephews and cousins and friends. Andy Leonard, a grandson, died in August 1998. Also preceding Bill in death were his parents, his brothers and sisters--Opal, Percy, Omar, Wilford, Marcella, Wade, Fairy, Betty, and Merle ""Pete"", and their respective spouses, and his first wife Annette. Memorials may be given in Bill's name to the Dundy County Museum, PO Box 511, Benkelman, NE 69021. As he wished, William Paul Hardwick is to be cremated and the urn will be placed in the Fort Logan National Cemetery, Denver, CO on Monday, November 30, 2015. Miss Me-But Let Me Go When I come to the end of the road And the sun has set for me I want no rites in a gloom filled room Why cry for a soul set free? Miss me a little - but not too long And not with your head bowed low Remember the love that we once shared Miss me - but let me go For this is a journey we all must take And each must go alone It's all a part of the Master's plan A step on the road to home When you are lonely and sick of heart Go to the friends we know And bury your sorrows in doing good deeds Miss me - but let me go