Roger Neil Hardesty

Roger was born on July 18, 1936, on a family wheat farm about 40 miles west of Wichita, KS, where he and his two older brothers grew up during the Great Depression and WWII. He graduated as Valedictorian from High School in Kingman, KS, in 1954. He earned a US Navy college scholarship (NROTC) and moved (with his parents) to Boulder to attend the University of Colorado. He graduated CU in 1959 with two BS degrees; one in Mechanical Engineering and the other in Industrial Management. He earned honorariums with Sigma Tau (now merged with Tau Beta Pi), Pi Tau Sigma, and the Knights of St. Patrick. Roger was active in the TKE Fraternity and served as ASUC Commissioner of Finance. At CU, he met Sandra Smith, daughter of George and Lois Smith of Denver, CO. She and Roger were married in November 1960 at Augustana Lutheran Church in Denver. Roger was a devoted supporter of family activities, attending innumerable school band concerts, football games and Boy Scout events.

Roger’s first job was with Convair Astronautics in San Diego, CA. There, he helped design the Atlas booster system used by NASA for the Mercury Program and many unmanned space missions. He moved back to Boulder in 1964 and was employed by Great Western Sugar at a variety of processing facilities across Colorado. In 1970, Roger began working at Coors in Golden, CO. He completed a nearly 20-year career in brewery engineering and grain handling operations. As a credentialed Professional Engineer, Roger began his own consulting business in 1990, which he pursued for an additional 25 years.

Roger designed and constructed his custom mountain home west of Boulder where his family has lived from 1966 to the present. He enjoyed an active outdoor lifestyle in hiking, camping, elk hunting and upkeeping his foothills property. Roger was a strong advocate for maintaining your own home and vehicles. He was a loyal fan of the Denver Broncos, Colorado Rockies, Denver Nuggets, CU athletics and other college teams with family connections. He was a member of First Presbyterian Church in Boulder and a longtime usher there. Roger and Sandra moved to Longmont, CO in 2013.

He is survived by his wife of 61 years, Sandra, and his sons Lance (Anchorage, AK) and Scott (Boulder, CO). He had four grandchildren: Irina White (Fate, TX), Larissa (Anchorage, AK), Zachary (Boulder, CO) and Katelyn (Boulder, CO) and two great-grandchildren: Nathan and Evelyn White (Fate, TX). He leaves two brothers: J Scott Hardesty (Tecumseh, KS) and Loyd Blaine Hardesty (Arvada, CO). He was proceeded in death by his parents Steve and Reola (Kistler) Hardesty. Roger’s brain has been donated to the National Institute of Health to further additional study into the human body.

A private celebration of life will be held at a later date. The family requests, in lieu of flowers, that donations be made to the Longmont Humane Society, KGUD Longmont Community Radio, or the TKE Foundation (Gamma Iota Chapter Scholarship).

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.howemortuary.com for the Hardesty family.