George E. Hardy, 88, a retired purchasing agent with the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad and a veteran of the Normandy invasion, died Monday in Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove. Mr. Hardy, born in Point of Rocks, Md., was a resident of Westmont and formerly lived in Warrenville. Assigned to Gen. George Patton’s 2nd Army, Mr. Hardy served with the 38th Combat Engineers in Europe during World War II. He retired in 1981 after 35 years with the railroad, working in its Chicago and Topeka offices. “He was a family man first,” said his wife, Mercia. Mr. Hardy grew up in Maryland and played minor-league baseball before being drafted into the Army, his wife said. An avid fisherman who enjoyed trips to Wisconsin and Canada, Mr. Hardy also was a meticulous gardener and a member of American Legion Post 407. Other survivors include three daughters, Julie Cramer, Holly Harralson and Bonnie White; a son, Dwayne; four grandchildren; and a sister, Dorothy Bowlus. Services will be at 9:15 a.m. Thursday in Toon Funeral Home, 4920 Main St., Downers Grove, with mass at 10 a.m. in St. Irene’s Catholic Church, 28W531 Warrenville Rd., Warrenville.
