Jeanette Carolyn Patterson was born in 1932 in Columbus, Montana. Her family moved to Red Lodge where they lived in a log cabin and she rode her horse to a one-room schoolhouse. Eventually settling in Powell, Wyoming, Jeanette graduated high school and then attended Principia College in Illinois. She majored in social work and Spanish and completed graduate work at the University of Wyoming. She began her teaching career in Cody, Wyoming. Jeanette met her future husband, John Hardin originally from Texas, at a wedding in 1962 and married soon thereafter. John’s work with the US government took them to Yakima, Washington where they lived the rest of their lives.
Jeanette was a stay at home mother until the Selah School district needed a Migrant teacher. Thus began her most fulfilling work with students she adored. Jeanette taught migrant students grades K-12 in all subjects and served as a teacher, mentor, and social worker. She was thrilled that her students became teachers, professionals, and successful employees who continue to better our community today. Jeanette retired from teaching in 1997 after transitioning to elementary, and enjoyed working as a substitute in the Yakima School District for years. Jeanette loved being a grandparent and she and John attended their grandsons’ sports and academic activities.
She is predeceased by John, her husband of 52 years, and her siblings Vernell and Ozzie. She will be greatly missed by her son Joe Hardin and daughter Heather Kessler and her husband John and their children, all of Yakima. Jeanette’s greatest joy was being a grandmother to Noah and Gavin Kessler.
Memorial gifts in her honor can be made to the activity fund at Community Living of Yakima, providing services to people with developmental disabilities and their families.
Services to be held this summer.
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