Gwen Hardy

Gwen Henry Hardy

Gwen Henry Hardy passed away at St. Francis Medical Center in Monroe, Louisiana, on the morning of Saturday, February 28, 2015. Gwen was 77 years of age. She was preceded in death by her parents, Samuel O. Henry, Jr., and Cleo Gentry Henry James, and her late husband of 43 years, William Joseph Hardy, Sr. She is survived by her three children, William Joseph "Bo" Hardy, Jr. (Catherine), Kendra Hardy France (Kyle) and Christa Hardy Swiger. Gwen is also survived by her five grandchildren, William Joseph "Will" Hardy, III, Mary-Martin France, Anna-Katherine Hardy France, Sarah Elizabeth Swiger and Mary Grace Swiger. She is also survived by her brother, Samuel O. Henry, III (Shearon), along with several nieces, nephews, cousins and many very dear friends.

Gwen spent most of her adult life in Ouachita Parish. Her early years were spent in Caldwell Parish where she graduated from Columbia High School in the year of 1955. During her high school years, Gwen was an honor student and participated in most all extracurricular activities. Following graduation she did her college study at the University of Lafayette (Southwestern) and then at the University of Monroe (Northeast). While attending, she met her husband, William Joseph "Bill" Hardy. During their marriage they spent several years following the professional baseball circuit in the Boston Red Sox minor league. At the end of Bill's baseball career, they returned to their home in Monroe where she lived until the time of her death. In addition to rearing her three children, she was a part-time teacher at Neville High School and did clerical accounting at E.A. Conway Memorial Hospital. She worked many years at the Louisiana Department of Agriculture until her retirement.

Gwen had an unparallel keen wit that attracted scores of friends. She was competitive and loved her NELA Duplicate Bridge Club affiliation. She was a former member of the Junior League, the Monroe Garden Club, The Review Book Club and the Altar Society at Jesus the Good Shepherd Catholic Church. At Good Shepherd, she also served on both the Flower Guild and was part of The Sanctuary Society.

Serving as pallbearers will be William J. "Will" Hardy, III, Samuel O. Henry, IV, Michael Regenold Henry, Kyle Martin France, John William Joseph Swiger, II and Jeffrey Norbert Karam. Honorary pallbearers will be E.D. Coates, Tex Kilpatrick, Herschel Gentry, David Erskine and Bill Ledoux.

Funeral services will be held at Jesus the Good Shepherd Catholic Church on Monday, March 2, 2015 at 11:00 A.M. with Father Timothy C. Hurd officiating. Visitation will be 9:00 A.M. until service time at the church. Interment will follow at Columbia Hill Cemetery in Columbia under the direction of Kilpatrick Funeral Homes of Monroe.

In Gwen's memory, memorials may be sent to The Arthritis Foundation at www.arthritisfoundation.org.

Online condolence messages may be sent to the family at www.kilpatrickfuneralhomes.com.

Kilpatrick Funeral Home

Monroe, LA