Leonard W. Hardy

Leonard W. Hardy, 92, of Mesa passed away peacefully at his home on Aug. 21, 2003. Leonard, a native Arizonan, was born January 18, 1911 in Bumble Bee, Arizona. He attended Buckeye High School where he excelled in baseball and football, his team captured the class "B" title in 1930. In 1932 he won the Arizona state amateur boxing title. In 1949 he moved to the Globe-Miami area working initially as a butcher and later as a shovel operator for the Castle Dome mine. In his days working in the mines he became very interested in the turquoise that was found alongside the copper ore. He began to market the turquoise to the Native American Indians for use in their jewelry and in 1949 opened up a wholesale turquoise operation in the Miami area. He and wife Geraldine later moved the operation to Kingman after successfully bidding on the removal of turquoise pockets at the Kingman, Castle Dome and Sleeping Beauty mines. Kingman became known as the "Turquoise capital of the world" and L. W. Hardy earned the nickname of "Turquoise King". In the early 1970's Hardy Turquoise company was producing over half of the world's supply of turquoise. His love affair with fast pitch softball led him to sponsor the "Turquoise Kings" who traveled locally and nationally playing tournaments in the early 70's. Mr. Hardy stayed active in the turquoise business until the age of 85. He is preceded in death by his son Leonard Gene. He is survived by his daughter Judy of Gilbert, 6 grandchildren and 6 great-grandchildren, and will be missed by many close friends. The family has requested private services. Contributions can be made to Heartland Hospice Service, 1661 E. Camelback suite 200, Phoenix AZ, 85016.