Charles Wilson Hardy of Statham, Ga. and Clayton, Ga., passed away Feb. 8, 2020.
He was born July 29, 1935 to Clarence Hardy and Sara Jane Coggins Hardy and grew up in Austell, Ga. Charles graduated from South Cobb High School in 1954 and served his country as a Specialist, 3Rd Class in the U.S. Army, where he was stationed in Okinawa at the end of the Korean Conflict. He attended Gordon Military Academy, where he played football for one year.
Charles retired in 1995 as a partner from his 36-year career at Atlanta Beverage Company. After retirement, he and his wife, Lee, enjoyed traveling and spending time with family and friends at their home on Lake Burton in Clayton, Ga. Charles was an avid automotive enthusiast, enjoying and attending NASCAR track races, and initially attending the beach races and the first Daytona track race. He also owned and showed classic cars including his favorite, a 1937 Ford Coupe. He was a member of First Baptist Church, Austell, Ga.
Charles was preceded in death by his father, Clarence Hardy; mother, Sara Jane Coggins Hardy; stepmother, Lila Hardy; son by marriage, Samuel Coy Cowan III; and daughter by marriage, Cathy Cowan Philipski. Charles was blessed to be influenced greatly by another family during his school years, Curt and Lois Mitchell, and their son, Donald. Though they are deceased, Charles always looked upon them as his other parents and brother.
He is survived by his wife, Lee Ridley Hardy; daughter, Tracy Hardy Thompson (Brian); sons by marriage, Todd Jackson (Shanna), Scott Jackson, and Matt Jackson; grandchildren, Brandon Boland (Michelle), Ellie Jackson, Tilden Jackson, Colton Jackson, Dylan Jackson; great-grandson, Beau Boland; and godson, Mike Economos.
Funeral services will be held Thursday, Feb. 13, 1 p.m. at Davis-Struempf Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Johnny Foster officiating. The family will receive friends from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. before the service. Burial will follow the service at Mozley Memorial Gardens, Lithia Springs, Ga. Online condolences and memories may be made at www.davisstruempf.com. In lieu of flowers, donations in Charles's memory may be made to the Monroe Carell, Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, 3322 West End Avenue, Suite 900, Nashville, TN 37203, give.vanderbilthealth.org/childrensmail or the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 3525 Piedmont Road NE, Atlanta, Ga. 30305.