Weatherly Bethea Hardy - spry2
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2021 will always be remembered as the year we lost Weatherly.
Weatherly looked rather like Humpty Dumpty, short, with a bald
head and a broad smile. He ran Aardvark Screenprinting in Elkmont, and wrote
some of the most ridiculous and entertaining radio spots ever to grace the
airwaves of a small Alabama town. Even non-customers remarked on the ads,
remembering his character "Stan Aardvark" who could fix any situation
through the power of screenprinting. Over the years, Stan fought giant
monsters, screenprinted a "Please Visit Again" message for the lonely
man on the moon, rescued t-shirt buyers from the mafia, talked with Captain
Kirk inside a temporal anomaly and rescued a boy's pet tortoise from high up in
a tree. "No job too odd!" was Stan's catchphrase.
Weatherly had a madcap sense of humor and a voice you couldn’t
miss. He was influenced by anime, Gerry Anderson's puppet shows, conspiracy and
paranormal radio broadcasts, and campy old radio ads. His original t-shirt
designs were both hilarious and esoteric.
Over the years, many babies received custom screenprinted
onesies at their births, courtesy of Weatherly and his wife.
Weatherly came from a Church of Christ background and did not
have the easiest life. There was pain in his past and a variety of health
issues over the years, but he pressed through and was always there to share
encouragement, a hug and a laugh. He adored his wife. He was beloved of his
friends. He was honest, caring, sweet, and had a laugh that was infectious.
Weatherly was like everyone's amazing uncle. Like his Lord, Jesus Christ,
Weatherly loved the outcasts and the odd people, taking special care of those
who others might overlook. His "no job too odd!" catchphrase could
easily be changed to "no person too odd," as he befriended and cared
for those who didn't quite fit. His faith was deep and evident in the love
he had for his wife, his daughter, his three sons, his grandchildren, his
comrades and for anyone who needed a friend.
Weatherly would not have you be ignorant of his faith in Christ,
either, as we know he is now with his Lord. As Weatherly once wrote, "The Bible
is not a grimoire, filled with potent spells that if you say them JUST right,
or enough times, they will bend the Almighty to your will. Instead, it
instructs you to bow your knee, your desires and plans, to His Will."
Weatherly walked in the Lord, and
is with Him now. If you did not get a chance to meet him in this world, may you
meet him in the next as the saints together praise The Almighty in the eternal
land where there are no tears and no death and no broken hearts - and no
one too odd! - forever and ever, amen.
Weatherly Bethea Hardy is
survived by his beloved wife Grace Elaine "Lanie" Hardy, his daughter
Ariel Elaine Hardy, and three sons Ian McLeod Hardy, Alistair Micah Hardy, and
Noel Franklin Hardy, as well as his two grandsons Dorian and Parker. A memorial
service will be held at Spry Funeral Home in Athens AL at 1:00 PM central time
on Saturday, January 8, 2022, with a reception to follow at Central Church of
Christ in Athens.
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Weatherly's name either to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital (stjude.org) or to Elkmont Volunteer Fire Department (check or money order to: Elkmont VFD PO Box 129 Elkmont, AL, 35620)
In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Weatherly's name either to St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital (stjude.org) or to Elkmont Volunteer Fire Department (check or money order to: Elkmont VFD PO Box 129 Elkmont, AL, 35620)
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7 comments
Proverbes 18.24
Thanks to Weatherly I became a christian, obtained a BA in French, married a christian girl, raised 4 christian kids, spent thirty years in France as a pastor missionary, and will soon obtain an MDiv in the Biblical languages as I look at a ministry in Israel. No one person has influenced my life as much as Weatherly did. I would have ended up in jail or with an addiction had Weatherly not shared his faith with me during our summer in France 50 years ago. As a result he will meet many French brothers and sisters in heaven because of his faith. For me he is a friend who will always be closer than a brother. Blessings to Lanie and her entire family.
-Thomas Fohner
I cannot thank him enough for everything he's done for me over the years. It's going to be weird not seeing him around in the Dealer's Den.
Sending love to the entire family.
- "Tabitha" Maddox
Blessings to my friends the Hardys during this bittersweet season all Christians experience when a saint goes home. I look forward to spending more time with Weatherly in the new heavens and the new earth. We will see him again.