Evelyn Viola Wurm Hardy

Evelyn Viola Wurm Hardy, 87, of Tuscaloosa, Alabama passed away October 20, 2011. She was born to Hans and Verlie Wurm of Tuscaloosa, Alabama on September 22, 1924. She was a graduate of Holt High School and received her BS in Nursing Education from the University of Alabama. She received her MA in Curriculum and Research from the University of Alabama. In 1947, Evelyn Hardy was a member of the first nursing class of the University of Alabama to receive a BS degree.

Evelyn Hardy was a pioneer in the field of geriatric nursing. In 1956, she and her husband, Lyman Hardy, opened one of the first nursing homes in the state of Alabama with a registered nurse in charge. LaRocca Nursing Home, a nationally recognized facility, became known as more than a skilled nursing facility but, a “home” to its many residents. Mrs. Hardy’s hallmark philosophy was “the dignity and personal worth of each resident”.

Mrs. Hardy was a member of Sigma Theta Tau, the Honor Society of Nursing, a member of the Board of Examiners for Nursing Home Administrators, a member of the Alabama State Nurses Association, a member of the Capstone College of Education Society, a Charter member of the Capstone Nursing Society and an Adjunct Professor of the Capstone College of Nursing.

The Evelyn Wurm Hardy Scholarship was established in 1982 by friends and residents of LaRocca at the University Of Alabama Capstone College Of Nursing. Mrs. Hardy pioneered the Pilot Program in Body Recall for Special Populations (nursing homes) in the United States. She was a nominee by the Alabama Gerontological Society for outstanding contributions to the welfare of older Alabamians. In 1975, she was nominated for the American Nurses’ Association Honorary Nurse Practitioner Award. In 1989, she was a recipient of the “Search for Excellence Award” by the American Nurses’ Association along with the State Nursing Association.

In 1992, Evelyn Hardy received the first Distinguished Nursing Leader Award from the University Of Alabama Capstone College Of Nursing. She was selected as Nurse of the Year in 2002 by the Alabama Nursing Home Association. In 2003, she was inducted into the Alabama Nursing Hall of Fame. Mrs. Hardy’s special interest was counseling and assisting high school graduates to enter the nursing profession. Mrs. Hardy served as a mentor to disadvantaged students at the University of Alabama.

She is preceded in death by her husband, Lyman C. Hardy, both her parents and her brothers: Michael Wurm, Theodore N. Wurm, W. Fritz Wurm, David Wurm and her sister Marie Wurm Keene.

She is survived by her children and grandchildren: Lyman H. Hardy, his daughter Taylor N. Hardy, her son C. Glen Hardy, his children Charles G. Hardy, James D. Hardy and Emily F. Hardy, her son Michael B. Hardy, his children Evelyn N. Hardy, Ainsley J. Hardy and Caroline B. Hardy and her daughter Jane Hardy Meredith.

Graveside services will be 11 AM Monday, October 24, 2011, at Tuscaloosa Memorial Park with the Reverend Grady Richardson officiating and Dr. James Shotts providing the eulogy and Heritage Chapel Funeral Home & Cremations, a Dignity Memorial Provider, directing. Visitation will be tongiht, October 23, 2011, from 6 to 8 PM at the funeral home.

Pallbearers are: C. Glen Hardy, James D. Hardy, Thomas T. Meredith, Mark Booth, Don Maughan and Dr. Max Moody III.

Honorary pallbearers are Mr. Jimmy Watson, Coach Mal Moore, Dr. Max Moody, Sr., Dr. Omar Baker, Dr. James Shotts and the doctors and past and present employees of Tuscaloosa Internal Medicine and the employees of LaRocca Nursing Home.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to the Evelyn Wurm Hardy Scholarship at the Capstone School of Nursing.