What is the Legacy of PF Member Jim Hardy?

[Greg Bernhardt]

It is with profound sadness that I must report that we've learned legendary PF brother @jim hardy passed away earlier this week. Jim was loved by countless members here and was an incredibly positive force for the community and all our outside readers. A genuine man, we always paid close attention to his posts as we knew they were full of Insight. Rest in Peace jim! You will always be remembered here as a legend. PF and our engineering forums will not be the same. His efforts here live on! Please feel free to give your thanks here and share a memory.

 

[PAllen]

OMG, I cannot process this, what a huge loss ...

 

[jedishrfu]

I’m at a loss for words. Every so often, our paths would cross in a common thread and I would defer to his experience and would ponder well his advice on whatever matter we were discussing.

Here’s one thread where Old Jim talked about his study of Latin and the debt he owed his Latin teacher Mrs Wright.

https://www.physicsforums.com/threa...learning-other-languages.917855/#post-5787048
Veni, Vidi, Relinqui!

(A little Latin in honor of Old Jim.)

Take care Old Jim, we’ll miss your grace, experience and humor.

 

[dlgoff]

What a good friend Jim was. Here with his friend Harry restoring an old Goff family violin.

 

[OmCheeto]

Goodbye Jim.
It was a great privilege to have been in your presence.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

These flowers have been sent to his family in PF Community's name

 

[WWGD]

Wow, a blow for sure. Will miss his sunny disposition, good attitude and extensive engineering and otherwise knowledge he was always willing to impart, clearly and patiently. I and most surely all others here will miss you.

 

[atyy]

I'm sad to hear. Jim was great to have here. Deepest sympathies to his family.

 

[StevieTNZ]

I am deeply saddened to learn of Jim's death. He was a valuable and knowledgeable member who contributed greatly to the PF forum and family. I will miss seeing him sign off posts as 'old jim'.

 

[Drakkith]

A profound loss for PF. My sincerest condolences to Jim's family and friends.

 

[davenn]

ohh my gosh

Jim, you were a true gentleman, I and others learned so much from you and you will be truly missed here at PF.

To Jim's family and close friends, my deepest condolences through this double tough time as it was only a
short time ago Jim lost his wife.

Regards
Dave

 

[Evo]

His wife just passed away recently. I wonder if that contributed. So sad.

R.I.P. Jim.

 

[Averagesupernova]

PF certainly won't be the same without Jim. It will be hard to get used to his absence. I have never felt a significant loss for someone I had never met til now. RIP.

 

[Wrichik Basu]

Cannot believe my eyes. I saw him replying a few days back, and today he is no longer amongst us? A very knowledgeable person, and helped us, the enthusiasts but beginners, patiently, taking time to answer all our queries. It's really sad that he passed away.

 

[Asymptotic]

Stunned, learning of Jim's passing. He never stopped learning, had the knack of explaining complexities simply, and balanced hands-on intuition with mathematical rigor.

My condolences to his family during this time darkened with loss, but be it tempered with the memory of a life well lived. He will be missed.

 

[artis]

I had an email exchange with Jim for some time, at first we talked physics then life, he even sent me a small brochure from his childhood hometown and said I need to visit. The last email never got an answer...
It's sad to hear.
If any relatives of Jim are reading this I want to express my deepest condolences.

 

[neilparker62]

Of the generation that took us - if not to the stars - at least to the moon. And photographed with incredible detail the ultra violet spectrum of the sun.

http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu//full/1978A&A...70L..11A/L000011.000.html
Deepest condolences to family and friends.

 

[Tom.G]

The Wortham Funeral Home shows he died July 1, 2019, age 73. RIP Jim, you are missed.

https://www.worthamfuneralhome.com/obituaries/James-David-Hardy?obId=4517254#/obituaryInfo

 

[YoungPhysicist]

Goodbye, Jim. Rest In Peace.

 

[Borg]

I am at a loss for words. Jim, you were a true gentleman and will be greatly missed.

 

[nuuskur]

Condolences to friends and loved ones. Rest in peace, Jim.

 

[TeethWhitener]

I’m so sorry to hear this news. Rest In Peace, Jim.

 

[Andy Resnick]

My sincere condolences to those that knew Jim well. The flowers were a very thoughtful gesture and I'm sure they were appreciated by his family.

 

[Grinkle]

To anyone who was close to him and reads this - know that Jim was greatly respected and this community is lessened with his passing.

 

[StatGuy2000]

Unlike some of the other posters here, I did not know Jim that well, but on the occasions I have interacted with him, I always respected his considerate manner and his perspective. This is a loss, and I wanted to offer my condolences to his family and to all of his friends both here on PF and elsewhere.

 

[etudiant]

He was always a reliable guide on topic issues. His wisdom will be greatly missed.
My deepest condolences to his family.
Rest in peace, Jim.

 

[bhobba]

He will be greatly missed.

With Sadness
Bill

 

[anorlunda]

The last contact I had with Jim was just before July 1. He said that he was visiting with family.

Jim told his family that he experienced great joy helping people on PF. I think that is evident in the loving care and extensive research he put into many of his top posts. All the rest of us delighted in Jim's knowledge and generosity of spirit.

Here are a couple of pictures from 2017. Jim and his wife Fair Anne, met up with me and my wife Libby in Grand Forks, Kentucky to watch the eclipse. We all had a wonderful time, and our scientific minds were stimulated.

Posing before the event.

and with the welding mask off. Jim & Fair Anne sitting, Dick & Libby standing. If you look carefully at the shadows on Fair Anne's forehead, you can see the degree of partial eclipse at this moment about 20 minutes before totality.

We will miss them greatly.

 

[CalcNerd]

As others can attest, Jim was great at making the complex physics and engineering simple for not just the novice, but for the learned as well. That is a gift that even the best often lack.

He will be greatly missed.

My condolences to all of his friends and loved ones.

 

[Dr.D]

For several years, Jim put huge effort into caring for his wife, Fair Anne (the Lady in the Sun, as he called her) as she went through a long, slow decline with cancer. My wife and I visited Jim and Anne at Christmass time, 2017, and she was struggling then; she lasted until just a few weeks ago. Two daughters were with him at the time, and stayed a couple of weeks afterwards.

Since Ann's passing, Jim has been on a frantic round of traveling, first up to PA to visit family there, then down to Houston to a wind power conference. From Houston, he flew to CO to work with a friend on siting a wind power project in the mountains; this took about 2 weeks, as I recall. While there, he purchased a used Volvo to drive home as he had accumulated a lot of stuff at garage sales (tools, TV, computer gear, etc). He sent me a photo of himself with the rear of the car open showing all his acquisitions filling the rear of the car. On the round was the small backpack containing everything he had started with on his travels. I last heard from Jim about 10 days ago. He was near Tulsa, visiting his sister, and planned to start back to Hardy, Arkansas the next day.

His friendship and knowledge will be sorely missed. I suspect that life without Anne just was not worth living for Jim.