John Robert "Bob" Hardison

John Robert "Bob" Hardison, Jr.

March 14, 1939 - May 28, 2021

John Robert "Bob" Hardison, Jr. was born in Colfax, Washington on March 14, 1939, the great-great-grandson of Oregon pioneers Gabriel Hardison and Barbara Slater who settled in 1845 on an Oregon Trail donation land claim in Monmouth.

He moved to Corvallis in 1944 and attended K-12 in Corvallis schools, including St. Mary's Catholic School in seventh and eighth grade. Bob graduated from Corvallis High School in 1957 and attended Oregon State University as a member of the SAE fraternity.

Bob enlisted in the Oregon National Guard in March 1957, enlisted in the regular Army in July 1958, and was stationed from 1959-1964 in West Berlin, Germany where he met Jutta, his German bride-to-be. He was right there when the Berlin wall went up in 1961! While in Germany in 1963, Bob was selected for Sergeant First Class after just 5.5 years.

After returning to the US, he became a Distinguished Graduate of Infantry Officer Candidate School, attended Parachute School, and commanded an Honor Guard detail for The Old Guard in Washington D.C. for the 1964 State Funeral of the 31st President of the United States, Herbert C. Hoover. Bob was an Honor Graduate of both the Adjutant General Officer Advanced Course and the Command and General Staff College. He also attended a Special Warfare School Course for Military Advisor Training Assistance and the Defense Language Institute (for Vietnamese).

He received his BS from University of Nebraska at Omaha and a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Golden Gate University. Bob was awarded two Bronze Stars (Valor and Oak Leaf Cluster) and two Vietnamese Crosses of Gallantry (Silver Star and Palm) while serving as an advisor to the Vietnamese Infantry Battalion in Dak To II Corps, South Vietnam from 1966-67 (First Battalion 42nd ARVN Infantry Regiment).

During an impeccable military career spanning nearly 30 years, Bob's honors also included the Legion of Merit, the Defense Meritorious and Army Meritorious Service Medals, four Army Commendation Medals including two Good Conduct Medals, as well as Combat and Expert Infantry Badges, and a Parachutist Badge. Bob was a private and humble man, but we' re honored to share that he wore six rows of ribbons on his uniform.

Bob served in Europe for 10 years to include Berlin, Germany twice and the Frankfurt area (in Hanau) where he commanded a unit of 275 soldiers, providing Personnel Service Support to 22,000 soldiers and an additional 35,000 family members. His unit in Berlin came to be rated the very best Personnel Office in all of Europe and was the first to be rated "excellent" in all categories inspected by US Army Europe Headquarters. Bob later served as Deputy and Chief of Staff G-1 at the Berlin Brigade Headquarters.

The Hardisons moved back to the US again in 1979, for an assignment as the Chief of Plans, Programs and Resource Management in the Defense Postal Service Agency Office of the Adjutant General in Washington D.C. He finally returned to Oregon in 1982, accepting a position commanding the Army ROTC unit at Oregon State University in Corvallis.

While at OSU as Commandant and Professor of Military Science, he grew a detachment of just 73 cadets to an enrollment of 275, and successfully negotiated a satellite unit at Portland State University that opened with an additional 100 cadets. In 1985, Bob's OSU unit was rated statistically as the best in the fourth ROTC Region (Western US). One of his officers was selected as the most outstanding ROTC instructor in the entire US in that same year. Upon retirement from the Army as a Lieutenant Colonel in fall of 1985, Bob was awarded the Legion of Merit for Outstanding Meritorious Service.

After military retirement, Bob became Assistant Manager with Cooperative Managers Association for eight years before leaving to assist his lovely wife Jutta with running her business, the Corvallis Academy of Ballet. He also studied accounting and worked for H&R Block. Subsequently, Bob and a tax colleague formed their own tax firm, Hardison & Novitski, LLC.

Bob was a longtime member of Corvallis Rotary Club, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, Association of US Army, the Retired Officers Association, and St. Mary's Parish (since 1944).

He and his wife Jutta, a 36-year veteran Ballet School Director and Teacher, got to celebrate their 60th wedding anniversary this May. They enjoyed traveling all their years together, especially visiting family and friends in Germany, hiking in the Austrian Alps, and getting away to the Oregon Coast.

Bob had a voracious and lifelong love of books, reading and learning, and everyone enjoyed his quick wit. He will be remembered as an Officer and a Gentleman, a quiet, brilliant man of unparalleled integrity who was kind to everyone he met.

Our Patriarch passed away in the comfort of his home at the age of 82, with the loving support of his family and wonderful caregivers. We are also grateful to Lumina Hospice staff for their help in our family's greatest time of need.

Bob is preceded in death by his parents, John Robert Hardison, Sr. and Eleanor Marie Lynch, and his infant son, John Robert Hardison III. He is survived by his loving wife, Jutta Hardison; son, James Hardison; daughter, Jeanette Hardison (Steve Lambott); granddaughter, Olivia Lambott; sisters, Cathy Hardison (Karen Stiles) and Mary Parchman, and brother Patrick Hardison (Lonnie) and their families.

Bob will be eulogized during a Catholic Funeral Mass at St. Mary's Church in Corvallis at 11 a.m. on Friday, June 18th, followed by an outdoor reception at C3 Corvallis Community Center (formerly Senior Center).

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Disabled American Veterans, Benton Community Foundation, Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, or St. Mary.s Church (Poor and Stone Soup funds).

Please leave condolences for the family at www.mchenryfuneralhome.com.