Margaret Nadine Hardaway

1925 - 2014

Margaret Nadine (Bessey) Hardaway passed away Friday, June 27,2014 in Porterville. She was 88.
A native of Terra Bella, Nadine, as she was called all her life, lived her last fifteen years
in Springville after many years away from Tulare County. She spent her last months at
Porterville Convalescent Hospital.
She was preceded in death by her husband, Richard (Dick) Hardaway, her parents and all
her siblings except for her younger sister Doreen Landers of Tulsa.
In addition to her sister, she is survived by her two sons Michael and Erik, her two grandsons Jason and Aaron, and her two great-grandsons Cristofer and Aaden, as well as daughter-in-law Julie McAmis Hardaway (Erik) and granddaughter-in-law Bree Licudine Hardaway (Aaron).
Nadine was born on a ranch outside Terra Bella, CA, on Sept 21, 1925, the twelfth child
of thirteen born to Merritt Cole Bessey and Lura Elmina Bundy. One of her older
brothers, Ronald, was her grammar school teacher three different years. After graduating
Porterville High School in 1943, she attended Business College in Oakland until she left
to marry Dick Hardaway in March 1945 while he was home on short leave from the
Marine Corps. They were married 62 years until his death in 2007.
While homemaking was her life-long profession, Nadine worked a number of jobs
outside the home, generally as a book-keeper. In her early years in Porterville she
worked for Western Auto and for Montgomery Ward. In the 1960's, she worked for the
Merced Sun-Star Newspaper in Merced.
Nadine was always an artist at heart, achieving her greatest artistic successes as a float
designer for parades in Porterville, as well as a set designer for church plays and as a
theme party decorator. Pictures of some of her works can be seen in museums in Kern
County and in Los Angeles.
Beyond her art and her love of her husband and her sons, Nadine loved children,
especially babies, instantly bonding with every small child she met. It was once said that,
for her, if there was a baby in the room, there was only a baby in the room. The world's
babies as well as everyone she knew are the poorer for her passing.
Visitation will be held at Myers Chapel on Thursday, July 10, 2014 from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM. A Graveside service will be held at Vandalia Cemetery on Friday, July 11, 2014 at 8:00 AM. It will be followed by a Memorial Service at Lighthouse Chapel in Springville on Saturday, July 12, 2014 at 1:00 PM.
To sign the family guest book or send condolences please go to www.myersfuneral.com. Myers Funeral Service & Crematory in Porterville is in charge of arrangements.