Clayton M. Hardy died peacefully surrounded by loving family and friends on Wednesday, October 7, 2015.
The factual side of his life is that he was born to Frank and Lillian Hardy on June 3, 1931 in Concord, Massachusetts. He grew up in Orrington, ME. He was a member of the Air National Guard and was deployed to the Philippines during the Korean War. He attended the University of Maine and graduated from there with a degree in wildlife biology and worked for the US Fish and Wildlife Service from 1958 to 1989. On June 7, 1958 he married Charlene Sprague, who he met when they were both working at the Seaside Inn in Seal Harbor. A year later their son, Frank Hardy was born and 2 years after that their daughter, Ellen Hardy. His job moved him and his family from Maine to New Jersey to Delaware to New York to Alaska and then after retirement back to Maine. He was a volunteer driver for Togus for many years following his retirement. He was a member of the Kiwanis, The Odd Fellows and the Grange. In 2005 he and his wife sold their house and bought a 5th wheel and RV-Ed all over the USA spending summers with their family at their camp in Island Falls, Maine and winters in Mission, Texas.
Those are the facts - here is the man. Clayton was a good, intelligent, gregarious person with an excellent sense of humor (he really enjoyed a good pun.) He loved his wife, Charlene, more than anything on earth and she loves him. He was a kind and fair father who loved and taught his son and daughter well (mostly by setting a wonderful example of what it meant to be a good human being) and his son and daughter love him so very much. He was a wonderful brother who enjoyed spending time with his sisters, Thelma Brunner and Kathleen Nutter and his nephews and nieces Mark Nutter, Kerin Clevidence, Eric Nutter, Holly Overmyer and April Burris, Lisa Radcliff and Lori Sweeney, their spouses and their children. He loved his son-in-law, Peter Morse, and adored his 2 grandsons, Devin Morse and Morgan Morse and was immensely proud of them. He was a great big brother-in-law to his wife's sisters Susan Everett and Mary Ann Edwards and was a steadfast comfort to Charlene when her sisters passed away. He had the ability to make and keep friends of all ages that was unsurpassed. He was an artist, photographer, woodworker, boat builder (the True Blue canoe), instrument builder, putterer, tinkerer and amazing knot tie-er (ah, the double-running half tangle...) His memory was amazing and he could recite many stories and poems by heart entertaining his children and various nieces and nephews every summer with his rendition of "Gerald McBoing Boing". He loved the great outdoors, camping, and fishing. He was an avid birder and had a life list of over 600 birds. He enjoyed doing crossword puzzles and figuring out conundrums. He always seemed to be able to come up with a solution to every problem (like starting a fire using a VW hub cap, a wad of toilet paper, Coleman fuel and jumper cables...). He loved music and some of his favorite times were when the family sat around and sang and played together. The sound of him playing "Hard Times Come Again No More" on the hammered dulcimer that he made will always linger at camp. His tag line on every Facebook post he made was LIG...Life is Good.
A Celebration of Clayton's life in Songs and Poetry will be held 11a.m. Saturday, October 17, 2015 at East Orrington Congregational Church, 38 Johnson Mill Road, Orrington.
In lieu of flowers please make donations to the Fields Pond Audubon Center, 216 Fields Pond Road, Holden, ME 04429.
The family would like to thank the nursing staff, other hospital staff and the doctors at EMMC for their kindness and comfort to Clayton and to his family during his last 3 weeks of life and to Jerry Smith, his wife Judy, and to Heather McLeod for all their help and support during this most difficult time. Condolences to the family may be expressed at www. BrookingsSmith.com - LIG
The factual side of his life is that he was born to Frank and Lillian Hardy on June 3, 1931 in Concord, Massachusetts. He grew up in Orrington, ME. He was a member of the Air National Guard and was deployed to the Philippines during the Korean War. He attended the University of Maine and graduated from there with a degree in wildlife biology and worked for the US Fish and Wildlife Service from 1958 to 1989. On June 7, 1958 he married Charlene Sprague, who he met when they were both working at the Seaside Inn in Seal Harbor. A year later their son, Frank Hardy was born and 2 years after that their daughter, Ellen Hardy. His job moved him and his family from Maine to New Jersey to Delaware to New York to Alaska and then after retirement back to Maine. He was a volunteer driver for Togus for many years following his retirement. He was a member of the Kiwanis, The Odd Fellows and the Grange. In 2005 he and his wife sold their house and bought a 5th wheel and RV-Ed all over the USA spending summers with their family at their camp in Island Falls, Maine and winters in Mission, Texas.
Those are the facts - here is the man. Clayton was a good, intelligent, gregarious person with an excellent sense of humor (he really enjoyed a good pun.) He loved his wife, Charlene, more than anything on earth and she loves him. He was a kind and fair father who loved and taught his son and daughter well (mostly by setting a wonderful example of what it meant to be a good human being) and his son and daughter love him so very much. He was a wonderful brother who enjoyed spending time with his sisters, Thelma Brunner and Kathleen Nutter and his nephews and nieces Mark Nutter, Kerin Clevidence, Eric Nutter, Holly Overmyer and April Burris, Lisa Radcliff and Lori Sweeney, their spouses and their children. He loved his son-in-law, Peter Morse, and adored his 2 grandsons, Devin Morse and Morgan Morse and was immensely proud of them. He was a great big brother-in-law to his wife's sisters Susan Everett and Mary Ann Edwards and was a steadfast comfort to Charlene when her sisters passed away. He had the ability to make and keep friends of all ages that was unsurpassed. He was an artist, photographer, woodworker, boat builder (the True Blue canoe), instrument builder, putterer, tinkerer and amazing knot tie-er (ah, the double-running half tangle...) His memory was amazing and he could recite many stories and poems by heart entertaining his children and various nieces and nephews every summer with his rendition of "Gerald McBoing Boing". He loved the great outdoors, camping, and fishing. He was an avid birder and had a life list of over 600 birds. He enjoyed doing crossword puzzles and figuring out conundrums. He always seemed to be able to come up with a solution to every problem (like starting a fire using a VW hub cap, a wad of toilet paper, Coleman fuel and jumper cables...). He loved music and some of his favorite times were when the family sat around and sang and played together. The sound of him playing "Hard Times Come Again No More" on the hammered dulcimer that he made will always linger at camp. His tag line on every Facebook post he made was LIG...Life is Good.
A Celebration of Clayton's life in Songs and Poetry will be held 11a.m. Saturday, October 17, 2015 at East Orrington Congregational Church, 38 Johnson Mill Road, Orrington.
In lieu of flowers please make donations to the Fields Pond Audubon Center, 216 Fields Pond Road, Holden, ME 04429.
The family would like to thank the nursing staff, other hospital staff and the doctors at EMMC for their kindness and comfort to Clayton and to his family during his last 3 weeks of life and to Jerry Smith, his wife Judy, and to Heather McLeod for all their help and support during this most difficult time. Condolences to the family may be expressed at www. BrookingsSmith.com - LIG
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