HARDAWAY, John Mitchell

Hardaway, Dr. John Mitchell Good-bye! a kind good-bye, I bid you now, my friend, And though 'tis sad to speak the word, To destiny I bend And though it be decreed by Fate That we ne'er meet again, Your image, graven on my heart, Forever shall remain. Aye, in my heart thoult have a place, Among the friends held dear,-Nor shall the hand of Time efface The memories written there.-Samuel L. Clemens (Mark Twain) from the "Hannibal Journal" Dr. John Mitchell Hardaway John Mitchell Hardaway, Ph.D, retired long-time chairman of the English Department at Phoenix College, died on Sunday afternoon. With him were his wife Gail, his two daughters, Samantha and Chelsea, and others who knew and loved him. John Hardaway was a gentle soul--the kind of man they don't make anymore. He was born in Branson Missouri, the son of a vaudeville actor and a radio actress. He moved to Phoenix in 1944, and graduated from Arizona State University with a B.A., M.A. and Ph.D. He went on to be a professor of English for over forty-five years. Dr. Hardaway was beloved by generations of students, including those he taught at Phoenix Union, Alhambra and Central High Schools, and those with whom he shared his love of Mark Twain and linguistics at Phoenix College. John's greatest passions were his children and tennis. A father of spectacular commitment and warmth, he spurred his children to great accomplishments. A southwest-ranked doubles champion, he played tennis regularly for fifty years, teaching everyone who wanted to learn. At his death, he was a member of Phoenix Country Club. Intellectual curiosity was John's forte. A student of language for his whole life, he cherished a dictionary collection and an edition of the Oxford English Dictionary so large it rested on its own stand in his library. He loved learning: about architecture, about tennis, about Mark Twain, about anything. In middle age, he built a solar-powered geodesic dome residence with his own hands during the summer vacations from teaching. Later, he built a cabin in Payson with his beloved wife Gail. His bright blue eyes and generous spirit will be sorely missed. "Manifestly, dying is nothing to a really great and brave man."-Letter from Mark Twain to Olivia Clemens, 7/1/1885 Services will be held on Wednesday, 11 AM at Messinger Mortuary, 7601 E. Indian School Road. Published in the Arizona Republic on 12/2/2003.