JACQUELYN HARDY

SHELDON- Family will hold a memorial visitation on Saturday, May 30, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., at Ferry Funeral Home in Nevada, Mo., for Jacquelyn Joyce Stites Hardy, 89, Sheldon, who died on Saturday, May 16, 2020, at Freeman Hospital in Joplin, following a brief illness.

The obituary may be viewed and condolences sent online at www.ferryfuneralhome.com.

Survivors include her daughter, Joy Halseth, Joplin; a son, Mark Hardy, Sheldon; a sister, Phyllis Stites, Parkville; grandsons, Yancy McKnight and wife Lynn, Austin, Texas, Michael Hardy, Joplin and Chance Halseth, Joplin; great grandchildren, Mollie Jain Halseth, Brody and Brock McKnight, Alexendria Hardy, Cheryl, Gabby, Aaron and Hadley Hardy and her furry family canine companions, Abby and Max.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Joe; a son, Randy; a grandson, Austin and four sisters, Marjorie Whitmire, Jane Baldridge, Katherine Harrison and Billie Hultin.

Mrs. Hardy was born August 20, 1930, in Centralia, to Charles A. and Pansy (Patton) Stites. After graduating from Centralia High School she worked for Kroger Grocery. On August 21, 1949, she married Harry Joe Hardy in Centralia. They raised one daughter, Joy and two sons, Randy and Mark, on their family farm in Sheldon.

Shortly after getting married she became the first female USPS mail carrier in Lamar. For many years she worked for Sheldon State Bank and Heritage State Bank in Sheldon.

She enjoyed interior decorating, was an avid collector of antiques and an awesome cook. She loved watching college football. She was known by all in her community for her sweet nature and wonderful sense of humor. Of all her accomplishments, that of wife, mother, grandmother and great grandmother were truly her greatest.