Alice Chapman Hardy

Hardy was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1942 and served in the South Pacific as supply officer to a construction battalion.

Hardy had worked with Pure Gold, a Redlands-based cooperative citrus marketing organization, and later was manager of the Redlands Foothill Groves citrus packing house.By the end of his 35-year career, he was well-known throughout the citrus industry in the United States, Europe and Asia.

"He was one of the real gentlemen of the citrus business,' said Tim Farmer, current manager of Redlands Foothill Groves."That's hard to come by today.

Farmer, who worked with Hardy nearly 20 years as field manager of Foothill Groves, said Hardy was "a salt-of-the-earth kind of guy who was honest, straightforward and made deals you could stand up to.'

Hardy was a lifetime resident of Redlands and part of a family that came to Redlands in the 1890s.Born Nov. 8, 1919, he was the second child of Clarence William and Alice Chapman Hardy, who were both teachers at Redlands High School.

He graduated from Redlands High School in 1937 and attended University of Redlands, where he was a member of Kappa Sigma Sigma fraternity.He graduated from the university in 1941 with a bachelor's degree in business administration, then earned a degree in industrial administration from Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration in 1942.

Hardy was commissioned as an ensign in the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1942 and served in the South Pacific as supply officer to a construction battalion.