Obituary of George F. Hardina

George F. Hardina, age 89, of Wisconsin Rapids, went to his eternal rest Thursday, September 21, 2017 at Aspirus Wausau Hospital.

Services will be held at 12:00 p.m. on Wednesday, September 27 at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church with final resting at Forest Hill Mausoleum in Wisconsin Rapids.  Family and friends are invited to attend George’s Life Celebration from 4:00-8:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 26 at Herman-Taylor Funeral Home.  A Knights of Columbus rosary service will be held at 6:30 p.m. and an Elks Lodge of Sorrow will take place at 7:45 p.m.  Visitation at church will begin Wednesday at 11:00 a.m. until the time of services.

George was born April 27, 1928 in Milladore to Fred and Evelyn (Cherney) Hardina.  He graduated in 1945 from Ben Franklin High School in Stevens Point and attended UW-Stevens Point.  He married Theresa (Terry) Weber on August 6, 1966 in Wisconsin Rapids. 

George enjoyed a 43-year career with Consolidated Papers, retiring in 1989.  He served as a steward and as chairman of the bargaining committee of OBIU Local 95 for many years. His career with Consolidated began on the chain gang, he worked the beaters and also as a clerk in the yard and in plant and property divisions.  The majority of his contribution to the company was spent in the Programming and Data Services department as a computer programmer analyst for 22 years. 

George was ambitious his entire life.  In his younger years, in addition to helping with the family owned meat market, bar, boarding house and his grandfather’s creamery, his first official job at age 12 was scouting for minnows in Mill Creek and selling them to a local business.  He worked so hard earning $1 a day that his wage doubled the following year.  He also was up at dawn to work two Milladore paper routes and committed to ringing the bell in the church tower every day at exactly 6 p.m.  Although there were days he would have to sprint to be on time, he was never late to get there.  By the age of 16, he was hired by the Soo Line Railroad.

George was an active member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks Wisconsin Rapids Lodge #693 for 50 years and served as a Trustee for many years.  He volunteered a significant amount of time at the Elks, completing many different projects and helping to maintain the Lodge.  George was also a member of the Wisconsin Rapids Moose Lodge, Junction City Knights of Columbus Council 04646, and a sponsor of Ducks Unlimited.  He volunteered his time to serve on the Board of Directors for McMillan Memorial Library and was a faithful member of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church.

George and Terry enjoyed many activities together.  They owned a cottage near Phillips and hosted many Christmas and swimming pool parties with family and friends.  George loved making wonderful memories with his daughter and her husband and his two special grandchildren especially when they joined him in Florida, an annual family tradition.  George also enjoyed time with dear friends bowling, golfing and playing cards every month, another tradition that continued for more than 30 years.  Other hobbies included reading, billiards, bingo, deer hunting, fishing in Canada and pheasant hunting in South Dakota.

George is survived by one daughter Debra Lee (Neal) Spranger, two grandchildren Xavier Luke and Terren Rae, Amherst and one sister Charlotte Hardina, Milladore.  He was preceded in death by his parents and his wife Terry who passed away on April 14, 2009. 

The family would like to extend our gratitude to George’s personal care workers, Ministry Home Health Care staff, Grand Rapids first responders, United Emergency Medical Response EMTs and Aspirus Hospital for providing exceptional care to George. 

Herman-Taylor Funeral Home is honored to be serving the family.