Benjamin H. Hardy III

1937 - 2022

Benjamin H. Hardy, III., 84, of Bloomfield, beloved husband of 26 years to Caroline (Tomlinson) Hardy died Thursday, May 19, 2022, at Seabury in Bloomfield after a long fight with Alzheimer's Disease. He was born in Richmond, VA on November 10, 1937; a son of the late Benjamin H. Hardy, Jr. and Anne Christine (Moore) Hardy. He expanded his wealth of knowledge by graduating from several universities, includingthe University of Virginia (B.A. with honors, foreign affairs), the George Washington University (M.A., international relations), and the University of Chicago (Ph.D., political science). Ben served briefly on active duty in the US Army reserve, earned a parachutist's badge, and was discharged in 1967 with the rank of first lieutenant in the intelligence corps. In 1961 he joined the US State Department as a Foreign Service Officer, with assignments in Germany, the Republic of Mali, and Washington, DC. After he left government to pursue doctoral studies, he held positions at the Adlai Stevenson Institute of International Affairs and the First National Bank of Chicago. In Connecticut, he worked at United Technologies, served as a vice president of Equator Bank (later an HSBC subsidiary), and thereafter consulted with private and government clients on economic development policy, primarily in sub-Saharan Africa. He also translated and edited a study in economic ethnography, Les Alhazai de Maradi (Niger), by Emmanuel Gregoire (Paris: Editions de l'ORSTOM, 1986), as The Alhazai of Maradi: Traditional Hausa Merchants in a Changing Sahelian City (Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 1992). Ben's focus on economic development drew on lifelong influences. His father, Benjamin H. Hardy, Jr., a Georgia newspaper reporter, editor, and publisher, served the U.S. State Department as a public affairs officer and speechwriter. In drafting sections of President Truman's 1949 inaugural address, he included his own idea for a global technical assistance program (Point 4 in the address) that became the Technical Cooperation Administration, a forerunner of the US Agency for International Development. He died at age 45 in a commercial air crash while traveling in Iran for the Point 4 program. This inspiration fed Ben's urge to help the world's poor, and intensified a lifelong itch to travel (he aimed to visit one foreign country for every year of his life), two forces expressed in his commitment to Rotary International and his devotion to the Rotary Club of Rockville, Connecticut, of which he was a past president. During one of Ben's consulting assignments in the Republic of Chad, a client had urged him to join Rotary as a means to meet local business and professional leaders when traveling abroad. While this proved true, he particularly valued the friendship of Rockville Rotarians. Rotary also provided a broad avenue for service. Ben felt especially drawn to Rotary's efforts to eliminate polio worldwide. He considered his volunteer work in India to help immunize children against polio to be a high point of his Rotary experience. He is survived by his beloved wife Caroline; as well as his sons, Benjamin IV, Brian and his wife Anne, William and his wife Elizabeth, and Richard Hardy; four treasured grandchildren, Helen, Joshua, Grace, and Isabelle; his sister, Maryjean Hardy Freas and her family in Seattle, WA, and four step-siblings. He was predeceased by his parents and step-father, Colonel William Little. Ben's family was a source of great pride and happiness to him. A Memorial Service will be held at a future date. The family wishes to express their heartfelt thanks to the staff at Seabury for the compassionate care they provided to Ben during his illness. In lieu of flowers, contributions to the Rotary International Foundation, 1 Rotary Center, 1560 Sherman Ave., Evanston, IL 60201; the Rotary Club of Rockville, P.O. Box 3155, Vernon, CT 06066; or The Seabury Charitable Foundation, 200 Seabury Dr., Bloomfield, CT 06002 will be appreciated. For online expressions of sympathy or for future service information please visit, www.carmonfuneralhome.com.