William Norman Hardin

William N. Hardin, 76, of Scituate, MA passed away on Friday, May 19, 2023 after a brief and courageous battle with cancer; his wife, Ruth “Chickie” (Moulds) Hardin was by his bedside.  His final days were filled with immense love, laughter and gratitude for a life well-lived. 

Bill was born on February 1, 1947 and was the first child of Norman “Tex” and Katherine (Lawless) Hardin.  He, along with his siblings Richard and Kathleen, were raised by his parents in a tight knit Malden neighborhood with his grandparents and many uncles, aunts, cousins and close friends cementing his lifelong core value of family within him at a young age.     

After graduating from Malden High School in 1964, Bill followed in his parents’ footsteps by honorably and proudly serving our country.  He was an Navy aircraft machinist, traveling to many countries and learning skills that shaped his strong will to roll up his sleeves and take on many, many future home projects with limited professional assistance (much to the chagrin of his daughters, who often were required to ‘help’).

On a storied night in 1977, Bill stopped into Clark’s in Faneuil Hall for an impromptu nightcap, and his life was forever altered when he met Chickie.  The days they spent snowed in together during the Blizzard of ’78 became a favorite memory. They married in 1979 after Chickie found a great deal on a wedding dress at Filene’s Basement and bought it assuming it would prompt a proposal: it did!  Soon after, they became parents to Kimberly, Lyndsey, Jennifer and Amanda – four girls in less than five years – and Bill proudly assumed his girl dad identity. 

Bill worked extremely hard to provide for his family.  His career as a technical project leader at the Office of the Comptroller for the State of Massachusetts was both personally and professionally fulfilling.  He adored his colleagues who became close friends over his 30+ years of service, and he was known for always having time for a smile and a good laugh.

Bill’s daughters absorbed countless life lessons and core values from their Dad, including the importance of family, education, work ethic, and being someone whom friends and family could always count on.  As they became homeowners themselves, they even began to appreciate his unyielding pursuit to fix things around the house through trial and error, as the knowledge he passed down over the years became ingrained in them.  Aside from his family, Bill’s ultimate obsession was continuous yard improvement – as his Wade Street neighbors know, he could often be found outside working on a project or trying a new technique to grow the perfect grass.

Bill embraced an open-door policy when it came to welcoming family, friends and, luckily for Chickie, pets into the home.  He was always pleased to find his nephew sleeping on the couch, his daughters’ friends around the kitchen table or coming for an extended stay, and neighborhood kids running through the yard.       

When he wasn’t at the office, in the yard or cheering for his daughters on the athletic field, he could be found enjoying Boston sports or golfing.  His crowning achievement was hitting the very first hole-in-one at Widow’s Walk golf course in Scituate shortly after it opened in 1997.                                 

Over the past 10 years, Bill was overjoyed to walk each of his daughters down the aisle to his son-in-laws Mark, Andrew, Jared and Brad: finally, some boys in the family!  And he was even more elated to be promoted from girl dad to beloved “Pops” to seven grandchildren:  Jack, Hope and Beau Barnard, Owen and Margaret (Maggie) Gunnarson, and Molly and Brooke Niles.  The joy and pride he took as Pops is beyond measure, and he will be missed greatly by each of them.      

Bill was predeceased by his parents, and his legacy is survived by wife Chickie, children Kimberly (Mark) Krikorian, Lyndsey (Andrew) Niles, Jennifer (Jared) Gunnarson and Amanda (Brad) Barnard and his aforementioned grandchildren.  He is also survived by his siblings Richard (Diane) Hardin of Newfields, NH and Kathleen (the late Peter) Hardin-Familetto of Hopkinton, MA, as well as many nieces, nephews, in-laws, cousins and extended family and friends.

Family and friends are invited to visiting hours on Wednesday May 24th from 4pm – 7pm at McNamara-Sparrell Funeral Home, 1 Summer St, Cohasset, MA. A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, May 25th at 10:30am in St. Anthony’s Church, 2 Summer St, Cohasset, MA, followed by burial at Cudworth Cemetery in Scituate, MA. 

In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the MDS Foundation (www.mds-foundation.org).  As Bill benefited greatly from weekly blood and platelet infusions during his 10 month battle with cancer, we also invite you to consider making a blood or platelet donation to any local blood donor center near you.

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