William Cecil Hardman Jr.

WILLIAM “Bill” CECIL HARDMAN, JR. All of us at The Dabney Nursery are very saddened to inform our friends and patrons that our longest serving employee and dear friend, William “Bill” Cecil Hardman, Jr., age 53, died peacefully over the weekend. He had recently returned from an elk hunt in Colorado and had complained of chest pains, but stubbornly, would not seek medical attention. Born on July 18, 1956, Bill was preceded in death by his father, AF SM/SGT William Cecil Hardman, and one sister, Cecilia Hardman Scott. He is survived by one son, William Nathan Hardman of Knoxville, TN, and one daughter, Billie Lanice Hardman of Tahlequah, OK; his mother, Ann King Hardman of Tahlequah, OK; one brother, David E. Hardman of Tahlequah, OK; four sisters, Carol Hardman Bartlett of Norman, OK, Cynthia Hardman Wilson of Rogersville, MO, Elizabeth A. Hardman of Tahlequah, OK and Patricia A. Hardman of Norman, OK; and a host of nieces, nephews, cousins and loved ones. In lieu of flowers donations can be made to Tallahassee Indian Methodist Church, Account #039969, mailing address: Citizens Bank, P.O. Box 1117, Okmulgee, OK 74447-1117. When Dabney Turley returned to Memphis in 1982 to build a nursery on family property, he returned with his friend, Bill. Prior to this sojourn, they had worked together at MidWestern, a large nursery in Middle Tennessee. Bill was responsible for the infrastructure of the nursery, a responsibility he always shouldered, making it look easy, though it could not have been. He maintained his position here for 27 years. Bill was an avid hunter and fisherman, from which he gained an almost cult reputation and following. Countless locals associated with Bill and participated in his wildlife excursions, but few could match his prowess. He personally thinned the deer, duck, rabbit and dove populations in our area, but always ate (and shared) what he killed. Bill did not hunt for the pleasure of killing, but was extremely proficient and motivated by the sport of hunting. With fishing as his secondary pleasure, he enjoyed getting out on the lake to escape the onslaught of activity on the nursery in spring. It was amazing that he still had time to tend to all the extra “problems” and “disasters” at the nursery. But, he was always here to tend to these things, on Sundays, holidays, it never mattered. If something needed to be done, we always turned to Bill, who made it all seem so simple. Bill treated everyone equally. He did not care if you had millions, or if you were poor and needy. He didn’t care about money, he cared about character. He was respectful of age and gender. He was a gentleman. He was know affectionately at “Chief”. Bill was universally respected by all who knew him. An intelligent man, he could only afford a few years of college, but he always pursued his personal studies, particularly of plants, animals, and insects. There will be a service for Bill at the Dabney Nursery, 5576 Hacks Cross Road. The service will be at Bill’s house beside the pond, Friday, October 30 at 1 p.m., for all who want to share in our memories of him. We will all greatly miss him. We have lost a truly unique individual that could not be measured on the typical materialistic scale. Rest in peace, Bill.