A Celebration of Life for Keith Glenn Hardiman, age 74 years, of Ames, is 2:00 pm, Friday, March 17, 2017 at Ames Christian Church with Reverend Tom Holton officiating. Burial will follow in Ames Cemetery. Following the burial, there will be a reception at the Ames Christian Church and everyone is invited to attend. The family will receive friends at Ladusau-Evans Funeral Home from 6:00 to 8:00 pm on Thursday, March 16. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Ladusau-Evans Funeral Home.
Keith was born in Ames, Oklahoma on September 30th, 1942 to Glenn and Vollie (Montgomery) Hardiman and died Sunday, March 12, after a long battle with cancer.. He was the middle of three children, Thomas being the oldest and Rex the youngest.
For most of Keith’s childhood the family lived in Ames, but lived also in Guymon, Oklahoma, and Eagle Point, Oregon before returning to Ames, where he graduated from high school. While in high school, he obtained a ham radio operator’s license and a pilot’s license.
He received a bachelor’s degree in English from Oklahoma State University and completed graduate-school work at the University of Missouri. While in Colombia, Missouri, he met Victoria Pauline Oswald, and the couple married at her parents’ home in Los Angeles, California, on November 24, 1974. They later lived in Oakland, California and moved back to Ames in 1976.
They raised five children: John Hardiman, Kirsten Redon-Hardiman, Elizabeth Roche, Rebecca O’Brien, and Seth Hardiman.
He owned and operated the Hardiman Roofing Company, originally founded by his father Glenn, for over 30 years. He was an active member of the town community and served for years on the school board and as an elder in the Ames Christian Church. He purchased his first camera in 1967 and was an avid photographer.
He is preceded in death by his parents, Glenn and Vollie, and by his eldest daughter, Kirsten Hardiman-Redon. He leaves his wife Victoria, son John and his wife Tomoko and their children William and Alex, daughter Elizabeth and her husband Eddie and their children Kiera and Aidan, daughter Rebecca and her husband John and their children George and Theresa, and son Seth.
He is also survived by his brothers, Thomas and Joy Hardiman and Rex and Betty Hardiman, and their families.
Keith was a warm and loving husband, father, and grandfather, who spent many hours drinking iced tea and hot coffee on the porch with those he loved.
His children have countless memories of family evenings spent listening to music ranging from Dylan to Mozart, going on excursions to photograph Oklahoma wildflowers, and taking summer bike rides to the Cimarron River. His grandchildren have many happy memories of Grandpa taking them for rides around the yard on his tractor.
Memorials in Keith’s name may be made to the Ames Christian Church Memorial Fund or Outreach Fund with Ladusau-Evans Funeral Home serving as custodian of the funds.
Condolences may be made and the services viewed online at www.ladusauevans.com. -
