Gregrey Scott Hardesty

Gregrey Scott Hardesty, 52, of Indianapolis, passed away peacefully at home on June 22, 2021, surrounded by his wife and daughters and his dog Milo, after a courageous yearlong battle with ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia).

Greg was born in Terre Haute, Indiana and moved to Fort Wayne early in his childhood. A left-handed skinny kid with ears to grow into, Greg was quite the athlete. Baseball and basketball were his two primary sports, but his athletic skills were diverse, as proven by being a Haley Elementary school “Superstars” champion. At Snider High school, Greg played on the varsity basketball and baseball teams. Rumor has it they are still looking for one of his homerun balls. Greg graduated from Indiana University in 1991 with a SPEA degree...and almost zero idea of what his career path would look like.

A brief stint as a vinyl siding salesman was all Greg needed to realize what his true passion was...and it wasn’t sales. Greg loved to cook. He quit his sales job and walked into the Glass Chimney restaurant in Carmel and applied for a job in their kitchen. He got hired, and the rest is history. Greg got his big break when he and Susan moved to Los Angeles in the mid 1990s and Greg landed a job at one of Joachim Splichal’s restaurants. He got unbelievable experience and training and quickly moved up the ladder. Next up was a stop in San Francisco as a sous chef at Rubicon. After the birth of their oldest daughter, Greg and Susan decided to move back to Indianapolis. In 2000, Greg opened his first restaurant, H2O Sushi. It was a perfect example of one of Greg’s culinary mantras...there is simplicity in great food. Elements, Recess, Room Four, and Studio C, followed in succession. Along the way Greg racked up numerous culinary awards and multiple James Beard nominations. He was most proud, though, of the cooks that worked under him that went on to achieve success in Indianapolis and beyond. As a chef and mentor, he trained and inspired a culinary army.

Aside from cooking, Greg loved heavy metal music, anything with Bill Murray in it, the Doors, baseball games, running (well, not actually...but he did run the mini-marathon in under 2 hours one time), and riding his motorcycle. He never wanted to be the life of the party, but he was always the person everyone wanted to be around. The dude abides. He was a proud husband and father who loved his wife and daughters more than anything.

Greg is survived by his wife of 27 years, Susan, his two beautiful daughters, Juliet and Gloria of Indianapolis, his mother, Toni Savone (Joe) of Indianapolis, his father, Ron Hardesty (Carolyn) and their daughters Jordan and Micah of Carmel, his brother, Jeff Hardesty and nephews Noah and Jonah of Whitestown. In-laws Cherie Stark (Jack) of Fort Wayne and William Korte (Donna) of Park Hills KY, his brother-in-law, Michael Korte (Rebecca) and nephew Oliver of New York City and sister in law Molly Yetta Garfield (Murphy Cox-Nicol) and nephew Liam of NYC.

Celebration of Greg

Sunday July 11th 1-4pm

Eulogy at 2pm

Mavris Art & Event Center

121 S East St

Indianapolis, IN 46202

Parking available at SE corner of East and Washington St., head south from parking lot under East St. bridge and Mavris will be on your left

Memorial gifts in honor of Greg Hardesty may be contributed to:

- the Eskenazi Health Hematology /Oncology department through the Eskenazi Health Foundation at 720 Eskenazi Avenue, Indianapolis, IN 46202 or at www.EskenaziHealthFoundation.org/donate

or to

The Carvel Club at 4627 Carvel Avenue Indianapolis IN 46205.