Ralph W. Hardy
Born: 1916
Called as Second Assistant Superintendent in the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association: 1948
Released: 1949
Died: 6 August 1957
Called as Second Assistant Superintendent in the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association: 1948
Released: 1949
Died: 6 August 1957
Biographical Articles
Improvement Era, October 1948, Service to Youth through the Y.M.M.I.A. - The Newly Appointed Superintendency
Instructor, November 1956, Gospel Teaching I Remember Best
Improvement Era, September 1957, Ralph Williams Hardy 1916-1957
Instructor, November 1956, Gospel Teaching I Remember Best
Improvement Era, September 1957, Ralph Williams Hardy 1916-1957
Green, Doyle L. "Service to Youth through the Y.M.M.I.A. - The Newly Appointed Superintendency." Improvement Era. October 1948. pg. 622, 666, 668.
Service to Youth through the Y.M.M.I.A. The Newly Appointed Superintendency By Doyle L. Green Ass’t Managing Editor How the Lord prepares his servants for leadership in the Church through years of training is demonstrated in the life of Elbert R. Curtis, newly appointed superintendent of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association. Elder Curtis, who in his forty-eighth year becomes the eighth general superintendent of the Y.M.M.I.A., will carry the torch handed down by some of our great leaders. These include Junius F. Wells, 1876-1880, four Presidents of the Church, and two apostles: Wilford Woodruff, 1880-1898; Lorenzo Snow, 1898- 1901; Joseph F. Smith, 1901-1918; Anthony W. Ivins, 1918-1921; George Albert Smith, 1921-1935; Albert E. Bowen, 1935-1937; and George Q. Morris, 1937-1948. In his new position Elder Curtis will supervise religious and recreational activities of about 67,000 members of the Y.M.M.I.A., and jointly with the president of the Y.W.M.I.A., will direct recreational activities of the entire membership of the Church. Some of his general duties include the supervision of the planning and building of manual and recreational programs, preparation of handbooks and manuals, conducting of conventions throughout all of the stakes of the Church, and managing the affairs of The Improvement Era. The great M Men program, and the program of the Boy Scouts of America in the Church come under his direction. Added to Superintendent Curtis' deep interest in and concern for youth is a rich background of service in numerous positions in the Church, all of which help prepare him for filling his new appointment. In addition, experiences which he has had in business further qualify him for his present responsibilities. Born in Salt Lake City on April 24, 1901, he is a great-great-grandson of President Brigham Young, and a son of Patriarch Alexander R. and Genevieve Raine Curtis. His formal education was obtained in the grade schools, the L.D.S. High School, L. D. S. Business College, and the University of Utah. He is a graduate of the Sales Analysis Institute of America at Chicago. EARLY positions held in the Church were secretary of a ward M.I.A. and superintendent of a ward Sunday School. At the age of twenty he was called on a mission to Great Britain, during which time he served for twenty-two months as mission secretary, working under President George Albert Smith, Orson F. Whitney, and President David O. McKay. In this position he also served as editor of the Millennial Star, mission publication. The training he received under these men proved invaluable in later stake and mission work. His first stake position was that of superintendent of Sunday Schools in Cottonwood stake. Later he became a member of the stake high council. For several years he served as clerk of the Granite Stake before being made a member of the Granite Stake presidency. In 1941, Elder Curtis was called to preside over the Western States Mission, and remained in that position until 1945. On returning home he served as secretary of the Melchizedek Priesthood committee of the Church. He later became a member of the presidency of the Sugarhouse Stake, and at the time of his new appointment is serving as president of that stake. Elder Curtis was married to Luceal R. Curtis in the Salt Lake Temple in June 1924. They have three children, Bruce R„ Kathryn, and Luceal Jean. Bruce is now serving in the mission field where his father first labored—Great Britain. Sister Curtis is the daughter of Samuel Rockwood and Esther Larson. Her grandfather, Albert Perry Rockwood, served as a member of the First Council of the Seventy of the Church, and was also the first warden of the Utah state prison. Sister Curtis attended the East High School and the University of Utah in Salt Lake City. She studied dramatic art and elocution under Maude May Babcock and has been prominent for many years as a dramatic arts performer. After finishing her training at the University of Utah, she taught school for two years and has also acted as a private instructor in elocution and dramatic arts. Sister Curtis has also been active in the Church from an early age, having served as a teacher in the Primary, Sunday School, and M. I. A., a counselor in a ward M.I.A., president of the Y.W.M.I.A. of Holladay Ward for four years, member of a stake Mutual board, and member of a stake Primary board. In the mission field she was president of the Relief Society organization, with some fifty-five organized groups under her direction. Along with May Green Hinckley and others she helped organize the Gleaner Girl program for the Church, having first helped to organize the first M. I. A. Gleaner group in the Church in the Sugarhouse Ward of the Granite Stake. Those who know Brother and Sister Curtis intimately say they have always worked together as a splendid team, and have turned down no opportunity to serve the Lord. They are both happy, yet very humble about this new appointment. Brother Curtis, who has been in business most of his life, is already making preparation to arrange his affairs so he can give what time is needed to his new responsibilities. Assistants to Elder Curtis A Walter Stevenson of Ogden and Ralph W. Hardy of Salt Lake City, assistants to Elbert R. Curtis in the general superintendency of the Y.M.M.I.A., come to their new positions from years of service to the Church. Both have filled numerous callings in the Church, including missions to Great Britain, both have outstanding records in community service, and both have succeeded eminently in their chosen fields. At the time of their appointment, Elder Stevenson is first counselor in the Mt. Ogden Stake presidency, Ogden, Utah, and Elder Hardy is bishop of the East Ensign Ward. Ensign Stake, Salt Lake City. Elder Stevenson, who will serve as first assistant in charge of activities, was born in Ogden, October 6, 1900, the son of Alfred and Merribel Bramwell Stevenson. He is a graduate of the Weber Junior College. Among the many positions he has held in the Church are: president of his ward deacons and teachers quorums; Sunday School teacher; missionary to Great Britain, 1921-1923; home missionary, 1923- 1924; member of two Sunday School superintendencies; member of a stake Sunday School board; first counselor (1934-1937) and bishop in the Ogden Twelfth Ward bishopric; second counselor to President William H. Reeder in the Mt. Ogden Stake presidency, 1939-41; first counselor to President Earl S. Paul, Mt. Ogden Stake, 1941 to the present. He is a former member of the Explorer advancement committee of the Ogden Gateway Council, Boy Scouts of America. He is a member and past president of the Rotary Club; member of the Chamber of Commerce; chairman of the local Red Cross; member and past president of the Executives Association in Ogden; a district governor of the Rocky Mountain region, National Stationers Association. Elder Stevenson was married to Effie Peck of Ogden in the Salt Lake Temple in 1925. They are the parents of four children: Mitzi, 22; Patricia, 19; Geraldine, 17; and Walter Peck, 9. Mitzi is a graduate of Brigham, Young University and is now working in her father's business. Patricia is a sophomore at the Utah State Agricultural College, Logan. Geraldine is a senior at the Ogden High School where she is president of the girls' association. Walter is attending grade school. Sister Stevenson is the daughter of Leo and Adeline Benson Peck and a cousin of Ezra Taft Benson of the Council of the Twelve. She has been active most of her life in the M.I.A., Primary, and Sunday School organizations. Her father was, for many years, a bishop at Holbrook, Idaho. Elder Ralph W. Hardy will serve as second assistant in charge of manual work. He was born on May 6, 1916, in Salt Lake City, the son of John Kay and Clare Williams Hardy. He is a great-grandson of President John R. Winder who served as a counselor in the First Presidency under President Joseph F. Smith. In 1939 he married Maren Eccles, the daughter of Royal and Cleone Rich Eccles of Ogden. Four children, one boy and three girls, have been born to bless this union. They are: Ralph, Jr., 7 ½; Claire, 5 ½; Alison, 3; and Maren 1. In his early youth Elder Hardy served as an officer of his Aaronic Priesthood quorums and was active in the Sunday School and M.I.A. organizations. He has been a Sunday School teacher for many years. He is a Life Scout, still passing merit badges, and hopes soon to fill his Eagle requirements. He is a Master M Man, having received this award in 1937. Elder Hardy spent the first two months of his mission to Great Britain, 1935-37, in the London district. He was then appointed to a special assignment and spent the remainder of his mission traveling to many parts of the British Isles giving lectures on the Book of Mormon. Upon returning home, Elder Hardy became a guide on Temple Square and has been serving the Church in this capacity ever since, directing on an average of three companies a week around Temple Square. When the Ensign Ward was divided on February 11, 1941, he was named second counselor in the bishopric of the East Ensign Ward, On December 1, 1942, he became bishop and was at the time of his appointment one of the youngest bishops in the Church. Elder Hardy was employed by radio station KSL soon after returning from his mission and is now executive assistant in charge of public affairs. He is also head of the Public Relations Division of the Salt Lake County Community Chest, vice president of the Utah Society of the Sons of the American Revolution, a member of the advisory council of the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Home Service Committee of the Salt Lake County Red Cross. In 1945 he was awarded the Junior Chamber of Commerce distinguished service award, having been selected the city's outstanding young man of the year. Sister Hardy is a descendant of two well-known Utah pioneers. She is a granddaughter of David Eccles and a great-granddaughter of Charles C. Rich. She has been an active Church goer all her life and has spent many years teaching in the Primary and Mutual Improvement Associations. |
ELBERT R. CURTIS
Newly Appointed Superintendent, Y.M.M.I.A. A. WALTER STEVENSON
First Assistant RALPH W. HARDY
Second Assistant A Message From Superintendent Curtis
"I have loved and admired Brothers George Q. Morris, John D. Giles, and Lorenzo H. Hatch through the many years. The Lord has blessed their administration and a great and noble work has been accomplished. "I feel extremely humble in undertaking this assignment from the First Presidency of the Church. I believe in the youth of Zion and have enjoyed my association and contacts with them. "It is at once a great challenge and a magnificent opportunity to labor for their growth and well-being. I shall devote myself to the work and with the help and inspiration of the Lord, feel confident that the work will continue to go forward." —Elbert R. Curtis |
Hardy, Ralph W. "Gospel Teaching I Remember Best." Instructor. November 1956. pg. 331.
Gospel Teaching I Remember Best
By Ralph W. Hardy
I suspect that every Latter-day Saint who has been honored with the opportunity to fill a mission for the Church holds a special appreciation for the bishop who was instrumental in extending that sacred call. In my case, my bishop, the late Harold G. Reynolds, embodied in his life two particular qualities which enabled him as a leader and as a Gospel teacher to reach me in a most impressive manner. He radiated a genuine and contagious love for his fellow human beings, and he exhibited a profound sincerity about his belief in the simple truths of the Restored Church.
The impressions of those choice years as a member of the priests' quorum under his tutelage and presidency have withstood the erosion of time and the crowding pressures of life. Even as I write these lines, I can recall as though it were yesterday, that I never came into the presence of Bishop Reynolds without being keenly aware that this man cared for me a great deal. Let me hasten to add that this was no exclusive favor he visited upon me, because the other boys sensed that same feeling. The effect on my life was very powerful.
On reflection, his genius as a teacher of the Gospel was attributable to his capacity to gently open minds with love and kindness, and then plant seeds of fundamental truth in the rich soil of inner consciousness where they would be sheltered from premature exposure while they grew into strong personal convictions.
Other teachers have entertained me far more effectively than Bishop Reynolds, but I have largely forgotten what they taught. I remember the teachings of my bishop!
I remember how much he wanted us boys to know that a personal testimony concerning Jesus Christ would be given to us through a revelation from God, if we were worthy of it. He told us over and over again in the simplest of language the story of Christ replying to Peter's declaration, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Jesus meant precisely what he said, according to Bishop Reynolds, when he stated to Peter, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." {Matthew 16:16, 17.)
Thus my bishop made the principle of revelation — personal revelation — meaningful and attainable to a 17-year-old boy. I learned that the Church is founded on revelation and that one may truly know that Jesus is the Christ by having that fact revealed to him from heaven.
Given good foundations and a strong will to build, one can erect mighty and enduring structures. My teacher, Bishop Reynolds, helped supply the will to build because he made life seem good and worthwhile with his generous love. I have never had cause to mistrust or find wanting the foundation he helped me to lay for my life.
Small wonder that on that beautiful Sunday morning, years ago, when he walked across the classroom and. putting his arm around me, said, "Ralph, what about going on a mission?" I knew before he asked what his question was going to be, and he already knew my answer.
THE AUTHOR
SINCE Sept. 1, 1955, Ralph W. Hardy — a native of Salt Lake City, Utah — has been vice president of the Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. He also is a member of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Assn. general board; high councilman in Washington ( D. C. ) Stake; chairman of the LDS Church general chaplains' committee and teacher (jointly with U. S. Senator Wallace F. Bennett of Utah) of the Gospel Doctrine Sunday School class in Chevy Chase ( Md. ) Ward.
He is a member of the National Council, Boy Scouts of America; vice chairman of the U. S. National Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; and a member of the board of directors of the National Conference on Citizenship.
Brother Hardy began his radio career with Radio Station KSL in Salt Lake City in 1937 and 12 years later joined the National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters, of which he was vice president when he became affiliated with CBS. As Washington vice president of CBS, his responsibilities include the network's government relations.
In the Church, Brother Hardy has served as a missionary in Great Britain, 1935-37; bishop of East Ensign Ward (Salt Lake City), 1942-49, and assistant general superintendent of the YMMIA, 1949.
He married Maren Eccles of Ogden, and they have five children.
Gospel Teaching I Remember Best
By Ralph W. Hardy
I suspect that every Latter-day Saint who has been honored with the opportunity to fill a mission for the Church holds a special appreciation for the bishop who was instrumental in extending that sacred call. In my case, my bishop, the late Harold G. Reynolds, embodied in his life two particular qualities which enabled him as a leader and as a Gospel teacher to reach me in a most impressive manner. He radiated a genuine and contagious love for his fellow human beings, and he exhibited a profound sincerity about his belief in the simple truths of the Restored Church.
The impressions of those choice years as a member of the priests' quorum under his tutelage and presidency have withstood the erosion of time and the crowding pressures of life. Even as I write these lines, I can recall as though it were yesterday, that I never came into the presence of Bishop Reynolds without being keenly aware that this man cared for me a great deal. Let me hasten to add that this was no exclusive favor he visited upon me, because the other boys sensed that same feeling. The effect on my life was very powerful.
On reflection, his genius as a teacher of the Gospel was attributable to his capacity to gently open minds with love and kindness, and then plant seeds of fundamental truth in the rich soil of inner consciousness where they would be sheltered from premature exposure while they grew into strong personal convictions.
Other teachers have entertained me far more effectively than Bishop Reynolds, but I have largely forgotten what they taught. I remember the teachings of my bishop!
I remember how much he wanted us boys to know that a personal testimony concerning Jesus Christ would be given to us through a revelation from God, if we were worthy of it. He told us over and over again in the simplest of language the story of Christ replying to Peter's declaration, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the Living God." Jesus meant precisely what he said, according to Bishop Reynolds, when he stated to Peter, "Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven." {Matthew 16:16, 17.)
Thus my bishop made the principle of revelation — personal revelation — meaningful and attainable to a 17-year-old boy. I learned that the Church is founded on revelation and that one may truly know that Jesus is the Christ by having that fact revealed to him from heaven.
Given good foundations and a strong will to build, one can erect mighty and enduring structures. My teacher, Bishop Reynolds, helped supply the will to build because he made life seem good and worthwhile with his generous love. I have never had cause to mistrust or find wanting the foundation he helped me to lay for my life.
Small wonder that on that beautiful Sunday morning, years ago, when he walked across the classroom and. putting his arm around me, said, "Ralph, what about going on a mission?" I knew before he asked what his question was going to be, and he already knew my answer.
THE AUTHOR
SINCE Sept. 1, 1955, Ralph W. Hardy — a native of Salt Lake City, Utah — has been vice president of the Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. He also is a member of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Assn. general board; high councilman in Washington ( D. C. ) Stake; chairman of the LDS Church general chaplains' committee and teacher (jointly with U. S. Senator Wallace F. Bennett of Utah) of the Gospel Doctrine Sunday School class in Chevy Chase ( Md. ) Ward.
He is a member of the National Council, Boy Scouts of America; vice chairman of the U. S. National Commission of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; and a member of the board of directors of the National Conference on Citizenship.
Brother Hardy began his radio career with Radio Station KSL in Salt Lake City in 1937 and 12 years later joined the National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters, of which he was vice president when he became affiliated with CBS. As Washington vice president of CBS, his responsibilities include the network's government relations.
In the Church, Brother Hardy has served as a missionary in Great Britain, 1935-37; bishop of East Ensign Ward (Salt Lake City), 1942-49, and assistant general superintendent of the YMMIA, 1949.
He married Maren Eccles of Ogden, and they have five children.
Ashton, Wendell J. "Ralph Williams Hardy 1916-1957." Improvement Era. September 1957. pg. 643.
Ralph Williams Hardy 1916-1957
by Wendell J. Ashton
He was jumping up and down — vigorously. A rather short fellow, he had clear, boyish blue eyes and pink cheeks. His golden blond hair spilled over his brow and he was dressed in white. As his arms moved and his body vibrated, the crowd moved with him.
That is my first recollection of Ralph W. Hardy. I had not met him. But that picture of him as a high school cheer leader has remained with me through some twenty-five years.
Ralph Hardy had a charm and persuasion about him that people did not forget. Through forty-one achievement- crowded years he continued to sway men and women with his eloquence, and vigor, and a personality that sparkled with brilliance, humor, and warmth.
Even after he was forty people commented that he looked like a boy. He was, compared with many of those with whom he mingled in the upper echelons of Church, government, and business. But young as he was, he continued to influence the high and the low—markedly.
When death struck Elder Hardy suddenly on August 6, 1957, after water skiing on Pine View Reservoir near Ogden, Utah, he had won a legion of honors. In the Church, his first love of activity, he had served as a member of the general superintendency of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association, as a general board member, as ward bishop, high councilman, chairman of the general chaplains committee of the Church, and as missionary in Great Britain. In the world of business, he was vice president of Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. He had also served as vice president of the National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters, and as assistant general manager of Radio Station KSL in Salt Lake City.
In government and civic affairs, he held many positions of eminence. Among them was that of delegate to two world conferences of UNESCO in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1954, and in New Delhi, India, in 1956. On the day following his death, he was eulogized on the floor of the United States Senate as a young man whose "ability could have made him a great national figure."
Those who watched Ralph Hardy in action on the public scene were impressed with his ability. Fatherless at fourteen, he was known by many for his tenderness and talents that included dramatics, organ playing, hiking, and composition of music.
Ralph Hardy's call to a mission for the Church brought a big turn in his life. Pranks became preachments, and his ability to sway people really flowered in the rich soil of the gospel. For months he toured the British Isles with a companion. They gave a demonstration of Hopi Indian lore and customs and told the Book of Mormon story. Many of their presentations were before businessmen's luncheon groups. Ralph impressed big businessmen in England. He continued to impress them for the rest of his days—in Salt Lake City, in South America, in India, and in the halls where the world's great gathered in Washington, D. C. In all his movements he was a stalwart bearer of the standards of the Church.
Among those Ralph met in England was a young photographer, not a member of the Church. After Elder Hardy returned to his home in Salt Lake City, their friendship continued through correspondence. At Christmas time they exchanged recorded greetings. Ralph's included piano compositions of his own making.
Two years after Elder Hardy's return from Britain, he baptized his friend in the Salt Lake Tabernacle font. Today this friend, Frank S. Wise, is a member of the Sunday School general board. Those of us who served on missions with Ralph and since have met with him often have admired this David-and-Jonathan friendship.
A prominent young physician recalled how Elder Hardy had taken an interest in him since the physician was a youth—how Ralph encouraged him and how, in Washington, D. C., he took him to a dinner with Vice President Nixon, members of the Supreme Court, and the Cabinet.
"Of all Ralph's kindness none was more beautiful to witness than that to his grandmother and his mother in their illnesses," said a friend. "He would rub his mother's arms for hours, it seemed, to ease her suffering. Busy as he was, he was never too rushed to be at her side frequently, and faithfully."
There was nothing Elder Hardy enjoyed more than his own family on a hike from their summer home near the headwaters of the Weber River in the pine and aspen covered hills of northern Utah.
And much of Ralph's achievement belongs to the quiet, charming, and cultured woman who is his wife and mother of their five children—Maren Eccles Hardy.
The morning after Elder Hardy's death a Salt Lake City businessman said to a friend: "Ralph Hardy had a great future." "Yes," said the other, "he had a great past, too." Thousands across the Church no doubt share those sentiments. The good he has done will re-echo long after him.
Ralph Williams Hardy 1916-1957
by Wendell J. Ashton
He was jumping up and down — vigorously. A rather short fellow, he had clear, boyish blue eyes and pink cheeks. His golden blond hair spilled over his brow and he was dressed in white. As his arms moved and his body vibrated, the crowd moved with him.
That is my first recollection of Ralph W. Hardy. I had not met him. But that picture of him as a high school cheer leader has remained with me through some twenty-five years.
Ralph Hardy had a charm and persuasion about him that people did not forget. Through forty-one achievement- crowded years he continued to sway men and women with his eloquence, and vigor, and a personality that sparkled with brilliance, humor, and warmth.
Even after he was forty people commented that he looked like a boy. He was, compared with many of those with whom he mingled in the upper echelons of Church, government, and business. But young as he was, he continued to influence the high and the low—markedly.
When death struck Elder Hardy suddenly on August 6, 1957, after water skiing on Pine View Reservoir near Ogden, Utah, he had won a legion of honors. In the Church, his first love of activity, he had served as a member of the general superintendency of the Young Men's Mutual Improvement Association, as a general board member, as ward bishop, high councilman, chairman of the general chaplains committee of the Church, and as missionary in Great Britain. In the world of business, he was vice president of Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc. He had also served as vice president of the National Association of Radio and Television Broadcasters, and as assistant general manager of Radio Station KSL in Salt Lake City.
In government and civic affairs, he held many positions of eminence. Among them was that of delegate to two world conferences of UNESCO in Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1954, and in New Delhi, India, in 1956. On the day following his death, he was eulogized on the floor of the United States Senate as a young man whose "ability could have made him a great national figure."
Those who watched Ralph Hardy in action on the public scene were impressed with his ability. Fatherless at fourteen, he was known by many for his tenderness and talents that included dramatics, organ playing, hiking, and composition of music.
Ralph Hardy's call to a mission for the Church brought a big turn in his life. Pranks became preachments, and his ability to sway people really flowered in the rich soil of the gospel. For months he toured the British Isles with a companion. They gave a demonstration of Hopi Indian lore and customs and told the Book of Mormon story. Many of their presentations were before businessmen's luncheon groups. Ralph impressed big businessmen in England. He continued to impress them for the rest of his days—in Salt Lake City, in South America, in India, and in the halls where the world's great gathered in Washington, D. C. In all his movements he was a stalwart bearer of the standards of the Church.
Among those Ralph met in England was a young photographer, not a member of the Church. After Elder Hardy returned to his home in Salt Lake City, their friendship continued through correspondence. At Christmas time they exchanged recorded greetings. Ralph's included piano compositions of his own making.
Two years after Elder Hardy's return from Britain, he baptized his friend in the Salt Lake Tabernacle font. Today this friend, Frank S. Wise, is a member of the Sunday School general board. Those of us who served on missions with Ralph and since have met with him often have admired this David-and-Jonathan friendship.
A prominent young physician recalled how Elder Hardy had taken an interest in him since the physician was a youth—how Ralph encouraged him and how, in Washington, D. C., he took him to a dinner with Vice President Nixon, members of the Supreme Court, and the Cabinet.
"Of all Ralph's kindness none was more beautiful to witness than that to his grandmother and his mother in their illnesses," said a friend. "He would rub his mother's arms for hours, it seemed, to ease her suffering. Busy as he was, he was never too rushed to be at her side frequently, and faithfully."
There was nothing Elder Hardy enjoyed more than his own family on a hike from their summer home near the headwaters of the Weber River in the pine and aspen covered hills of northern Utah.
And much of Ralph's achievement belongs to the quiet, charming, and cultured woman who is his wife and mother of their five children—Maren Eccles Hardy.
The morning after Elder Hardy's death a Salt Lake City businessman said to a friend: "Ralph Hardy had a great future." "Yes," said the other, "he had a great past, too." Thousands across the Church no doubt share those sentiments. The good he has done will re-echo long after him.