Stephen M. Hardy

1949 - 2023

News Story
By Mark Zaborney
Blade Staff Writer

Stephen M. Hardy, a star high school athlete and a manager at the former General Mills plant in West Toledo who volunteered in his disability retirement to guide Oregon-area youngsters, died Thursday at ProMedica Bay Park Hospital, Oregon. He was 73.

He suffered ventricular fibrillation after undergoing abdominal surgery several hours earlier, his son, Steve Hardy, said.

Mr. Hardy, of Oregon, tutored students in math at Fassett Junior High and Eisenhower Intermediate schools through last academic year. Earlier in his retirement, he volunteered as a football coach at Eisenhower and as an assistant football coach at Cardinal Stritch High School. He also taught theology and math as a volunteer at Cardinal Stritch.

He was motivated to teach and tutor by the aid he received when he was an elementary student.

"He had a couple teachers help him understand he just learned differently," the younger Mr. Hardy said. "Through those teachers, he was able to develop and be on the honor roll and get two degrees. He really wanted to give back and help kids."

He was born Dec. 30, 1949, to Susanna and Robert Hardy. His start in team sports came when he and his brother Jim - 22 months his senior - joined the youth football team at South Toledo's Immaculate Conception Parish formed by their older brother, Robert.

After the family moved to West Toledo, the younger Hardy brothers played football for DeVilbiss High School, where Steve was a defensive tackle and Jim a linebacker and tight end. They also had occasion to play against Central Catholic, where their older brother was an assistant football coach.

Mr. Hardy "was so strong," his brother Jim said. "He worked out every single day except Sundays. He worked out way more than I did, lifting weights and running."

Shot put and discus were his events in track and field. He also wrestled for DeVilbiss. At 6-feet tall and weighing 220 pounds, he won the city heavyweight championship his senior year and was a state tournament qualifier.

"We were kind of like rivals and enemies at the time," said Greg Wojciechowski, who before his NCAA title, his tenure on the U.S. Olympics team, and his professional career, wrestled for Whitmer High School. "He was a good athlete. He was tough and tough-minded."

They later worked at Dick Torio's health club and developed a friendship that spanned decades.

"He was a good Catholic, a good Christian man, a good family man. Everything was family," said Mr. Wojciechowski, who is widely known as Wojo. "I enjoyed being around him. We talked about anything - world affairs and athletics."

After his 1968 DeVilbiss graduation, Mr. Hardy went to Bowling Green State University to play football and wrestle. While working at what became the Sun Oil refinery on the East Toledo-Oregon border, he suffered electric shock, resulting in second and third-degree burns. He spent months in the hospital as he healed from extensive skin grafts.

He returned to BGSU and wrestled again. He received a bachelor's degree in business in 1973. He later received a master's degree in business from the University of Toledo.

He was a manager for more than 20 years at the General Mills plant, known for making Cheerios and cake mixes. His disability retirement followed an injury while on the loading dock.

"Going through everything he did speaks a lot about his character," the younger Mr. Hardy said. "The word that comes to mind is strength, not just being a football player and wrestler, but to go through the things he went through and to come out of it."

He was good natured and didn't take himself seriously - and his love for those close to him was apparent.

"There's no question about love. He really brought that to anything he did," said the younger Mr. Hardy, head football coach at Southview High School in Sylvania. Mr. Hardy last year gave his varsity ring from BGSU to his son. "Football has been a huge part of my life and his life.

"He cared about doing the right thing - even if it was harder," he said. "He looked like a tough bear, but deep down he was a silly guy and liked to laugh and make people laugh."

He was a member of All Saints Parish in Rossford, where he was a Eucharistic minister.

Surviving are his wife, the former Jean Lepper, whom he married May 12, 1972; daughter, Amibeth Seman; son, Stephen J. Hardy; brothers Robert Hardy and James Hardy, and two grandchildren.

Visitation will be from 4-8 p.m. Thursday at Eggleston Meinert & Pavley Funeral Home, Oregon. Funeral services will begin at 10 a.m. Friday in St. Thomas Aquinas Church of Epiphany of the Lord Parish, 729 White St., in East Toledo where the family will greet friends after 9 a.m.