Janet R. Hardy

Janet R. Hardy passed away at her home in Tucson, AZ on Monday, January 27, 2014 of complications from scleroderma associated pulmonary arterial hypertension. Born May 21, 1934 in Niagara Falls, NY to Scottish parents, she and her sister grew up inspired by their mother's commitment to education and community, their dapper father's hard work, and with strong memories of traveling to Scotland on the Queen Mary soon after WW II. Jan graduated from Niagara Falls High School in 1952, and received her BA in Chemistry from Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts four years later where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. After college, she returned to Niagara Falls for summer employment at DuPont, and met her future husband Richard Hardy at a party. They remained married for 57 years until her death. Jan helped support Rich, as he attended Harvard Business School, by employment in the instant color film research lab at Polaroid where she was both researcher and model for the evolving technology. They moved to California in 1958 where she worked in radiation chemistry at Atomics International, and where their children Diane and Alan were born in the early 1960s. The family later moved to Santa Barbara where Jan was the center of their social circle, made friends easily, and joined the Junior League. A later move led to her employment at SRI International in Menlo Park where she became Project Director for the Directory of Chemical Producers. She approached her disease with great dignity and emotional tolerance, refusing to let it limit activities, friendships, or worldwide travel. She was president of both the Mount Holyoke Club of Southern Arizona and Welcome Wagon Noreast of Tucson. Toward the end of life she loved crossword puzzles, the game of bridge, the gym, reading and opera, her children and grandson, and the Arizona Wildcats. Relentless, funny, and direct, we will always be inspired by her strength and ability to take what came with a smile. Jan is survived by her husband Rich of Tucson, AZ; daughter, Diane of Monterey County, CA; son, Alan and daughter-in-law, Stephanie of Portland, OR; and grandson, Shawn of Seattle, WA. Arrangements by EAST LAWN PALMS MORTUARY.