Charles W Hardy

Charles William “Bob” Hardy entered eternal rest on June 14, 2026, surrounded by his sons, Jim and Russell, and their respective wives, Stephanie and Kerry. It was a peaceful passing at Christus Spohn Shoreline Hospital in Corpus Christi, TX following his admission on June 9, 2026, for a hip fracture suffered in the home. Bob was born at home on February 2, 1940, in Scurry County, TX outside of Snyder, TX. He was the fourth child born by his mother, Florence Mae Hardy, nee Davis, and the first son for his father, Charles Stuart Hardy. As such, he was christened Charles with William coming from his mother’s father. Anniece, who was 18 months older than Bob, had difficulty pronouncing ‘baby’ and called him “Bobby” instead. The name stuck and followed him through the rest of his life.

Bob was born into farm labor which was shared by all of the children, Mae Jean, Margaret, Anniece, and his two younger brothers, Marvin Ray and E.W. He attended school in Snyder and met and romanced Elizabeth Annelle Hudnall. Their union produced two children, Deborah Ann in November of 1957 and Stephen Wayne in March of 1960. Dissatisfied with farm labor, Bob left Scurry County in the mid 1960’s and traveled to the bustling oilfields of Lea County, NM. He drove trucks, built locations, and quickly learned that the industry was cyclical having boom and bust cycles. He met June Bullard while working in the oil industry and decided that if he wanted a better life with her that he would need something with a better future. He was hired by the Kerr McGee potash mine on his birthday in 1966. His marriage to June provided him with an instant family, her son, Larry Dale Maypole, who was 4 years old when they got married in June of 1965, and Bob was readily adopted into her family becoming a favored son-in-law to her parents, Forrest & Zoe.

Their first child, Jim Bob, was born in April of 1967, followed quickly by their second, Russell Forrest, in November of 1968. Jim was named after his mother’s brother, Jim, and after his dad, and Russell was named after a favorite paternal uncle, Rusty, and his maternal grandfather. Bob took to fatherhood and ensured that his sons would not experience the same childhood that he experienced. On weekends and any other time off from work we were inseparable. We learned firsthand how to fix anything, if he did not know how to do it himself, he had friends that certainly did. Our summers were spent in Red River, NM experiencing Rocky Mountain trout fishing and exploring the mountains searching for lost gold mines and other buried treasures. Fall was spent bird hunting and later deer hunting once we were of age. He showed Russell and I how to be good men, how to respect women, how to be kind and care for others, and he imparted a sense of stewardship that forged our decisions to embark on separate ventures grounded in public service. Moreover, he taught us how to be fathers to our own children. He was never shy about expressing his disappointment, but he was also restrained in his rebuke. We knew he was disappointed, when he muttered, “damn, boy, what were you thinking?,” and no further recriminations were needed. Russell and I were lucky with the parents that we were provided with. Life is hard, but it is much harder when one does not have a solid foundation to build upon. Having two independent reference standards, each with a firm moral compass, ensures that the resulting structure will be plumb and true.

Having raised his two youngest sons to adulthood and nearing the latter part of his career, Bob and June started vacationing along the Texas gulf coast, centering on Rockport, where Larry had moved. They spent their winters there, joining the “winter Texan” crowd, and both decided to trade the windswept plains and bitter cold winters for humidity, hurricanes, and mosquitoes. Bob retired from the mines thirty years to the day from when he started, on his birthday in 1996.

Initially, he and June looked for rental property that they could invest in and run as they began the post-retirement chapter of their lives. They had experience running the trailer park in Hobbs that her father established, but their efforts to find something similar on the coast were unsuccessful. On one particularly hot day, after suffering one too many frustrations, they stopped in at the Buckhorn Saloon on Main Street in Ingleside and decided to drink a beer and sit in the air conditioning and regroup. The barkeep was a local and they shared their plans with him hoping that he might know of an opportunity. They soon found themselves negotiating the sale of that establishment and Bob soon found himself putting his hard hat, miner’s lamp, and pick on the shelf and grabbing an apron and bar rag instead.

Ingleside and the Buckhorn were good for Bob. The Navy base was still operating at that time, and he found himself listening to and counseling young men and women, attending their weddings, funerals, promotion ceremonies, and retirements. He and June purchased a home on Ingleside Bay and quickly made lifelong friends in that community as well. Their home was always alive with music and Bob’s fabulous home-cooked meals. He traded in his chili and NM chile recipes in and discovered how to boil shrimp and crabs and make Cajun Coubion. When he was not cooking and entertaining, he was fishing. Several trophy fish were taken out of the canal behind his home and neighbor shrimp boat captains were always eager to trade part of their haul for a case of beer.

Sadly, his marriage to June was over by December of 2002, but his life with his new sweetheart, Rita, was not far off. They dated and were married in May of 2004, and he welcomed her children, Clayton, and Camron, into his life, as well as her mother, Barbara. He and Rita continued living on the bay until ascending the steps and property insurance increases convinced them to move into her home in Ingleside. He found himself busy helping Rita care for her mother and her rambling estate. Selling the bar and the home on the bay freed him up to travel more. He and Rita made frequent trips to Mexico for hair cuts and long weekends away. He also found time to ride in organized cycling rides and rallies like Conquer the Coast and races in Goliad and Cuero. He also yearned for a part of his life that he had not experienced since childhood and bought a ranch in Goliad County where he would escape to periodically to get back into sync with nature and ranch life.

Age caught up to him toward the end of his life. He developed a stiffness in his joints that caused him difficulty ascending the steps at the home on the bay. That issue turned into a “restless leg” syndrome that disrupted his sleep the rest of his days. Medication and exercise would occasionally give him some relief, but it would always reappear, especially at night or whenever he was still. His vision started to wane as well resulting in complete blindness in one eye caused by macular degeneration. He figured out on his own that he could not drive any longer and turned over those duties to Rita. He still managed to keep the lawns mowed at his house and Barbara’s, where Camron and Chris and their children live. He also maintained a constant vigil against nefarious actions contemplated by the damn Democrats. He did not watch Fox News once during his stay at the hospital, no doubt noticed by the network.

Bob was preceded in death by both of his parents, by June’s parents, by June, his stepson, Larry Dale Maypole, by his sisters, Mae Jean Gonzales, Margaret Fraley, and Anniece Trujillo, and by his youngest brother, E.W. Hardy. He is survived by his wife, Rita, and her children Clayton Bownds (Georgia), and Camron Cox (Chris), and their daughters Madeline & Peyton, and Madeline’s daughter, Allison Cox; his sons, Jim (Stephanie), and their children, D’nae & Briton; and Russell (Kerry) and their children, Colton (Courtney), Mason (Taili), and Raegan, and Colton’s son, Rhodes Forrest Hardy; his daughter, Deborah Ann Haiduk, and her children Misty Michelle Walker, Charles Thomas Coates, and Anthony Newman Coates; his son, Stephen Wayne Hardy, and his children, Stephen Wayne Hardy, Jr, Timothy Allen Hardy, and Michael Shane Hardy. He is also survived by his brother, Marvin Ray Hardy (Sue) of Lake Havasu, AZ.