DR. BENJAMIN WALDROP HARDIN

DR. BENJAMIN WALDROP
HARDIN, 81

GAINESVILLE, GEORGIA - Dr. Ben W. Hardin went home to be with the Lord on November 24, 2015, after a lengthy illness. He was born on December 11, 1933, in Lakeland, Florida to James Leander Hardin and Erma Lois Waldrop Hardin, also of Lakeland. Dr. Hardin was the youngest of five children and the last of the siblings to survive.
Dr. Hardin is survived by his wife of 36 years, Karen Haigler Hardin; three children, Lynn Clements (Gary), Ben Hardin, Jr. (Mary Anne), and Beth Kirkland (John) all of Lakeland; six grandchildren, Mark Wright (Becky) of Auburndale, Jennifer Sheffield (Nathan) of Humboldt, Tennessee, Mattie Hardin of Lakeland, Mosby Hardin of Lakeland, Ben Hardin, III of Lakeland, and Bryce Hardin of Lakeland; and five great grandchildren, Grace Wright, Hope Wright, Lily Sheffield, Mathias Sheffield, and Lucas Sheffield. He is also survived by loving cousins, nieces, nephews, his fellow LHS 1951 alumni, and many beloved dental patients.
Dr. Hardin was born and raised in Lakeland where he became an Eagle Scout. He loved to play golf, work in his yard, design and create lovely furniture and gifts in his woodworking shop for family and friends, and attend football games to cheer on the Lakeland High School Dreadnaughts and later, the Appalachian State University Mountaineers with the Yosef club.
He pursued his dream to become a dentist by attending and graduating from Emory University at Valdosta and from Emory University Dental School in Atlanta. After dental school, Dr. Hardin served as a dentist in the Army at the rank of Captain. When his military service was completed he returned to Lakeland to practice dentistry and was a faithful member of the BYKOTA Sunday school class at the First United Methodist Church. He loved people and he loved the Lord.
Dr. Hardin and his wife Karen left Lakeland in 1989, and moved to Boone, North Carolina where he practiced dentistry until 2007. They spent countless hours driving through their beloved North Carolina Mountains. In December 2014, they moved to Gainesville, Georgia to be near family. He passed away while living there.
Dr. Hardin was lovingly cared for by Hospice of Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Gainesville, Georgia. A few weeks before his home going, his hospice nurse asked, 'Do you know where you are?' He promptly replied, 'Yes, ma'am. Just a little short of Heaven.'
The family will hold a private memorial service to celebrate his life. Online condolences can be submitted at www.hillsidechapelfuneralhome.com. In lieu of flowers, the family respectfully suggests a donation to a local hospice facility.