Mrs. Laura Fuller Hardeman was born on August 23, 1940. She passed away on Sunday, January 7, 2024. Visitation will be held in the Elkins Funeral Home parlor on January 10, 2024 from 6pm to 8pm. Service will be held at St. James Methodist Church on Thursday, January 11 beginning at 11 AM, officiating will be Dr. Rick Owen and Rev. Dean Bowers. Burial will follow at Tri-Cities Memorial Gardens at 4 PM.
Mrs. Hardeman is survived by her husband of 60 years, John Hardeman; daughter, Elizabeth Hardeman and grandson, William Brooks (Jessica); nieces, Martha Hester and Nancy Butler; great-nieces, Summer Salinas and Caroline Kelley; great-nephew, Matt Hester; and numerous great-great nieces and nephews.
She is preceded in death by her parents, Clark and Jessie Fuller; a sister, Nell Hester; and a nephew, Terry Hester.
Pallbearers will be Sam Chard, Tony Chard, Bob Dolan, Bryan Dolan, David Dolan, Jimmy Oliver, Kenny Johnson, and Dr. Jimmy Shaw.
Honorary Pallbearers will be Kenneth Bailey, Charles Ray Hunt, Bobby Dolan, Ned Cox, Steve Pierce, Bill Griffin and Jim Crandall.
She graduated from Deshler High School at the age of 16. She then continued on to receive her Bachelor’s, Master’s and E.dS. degrees from the University of North Alabama.
She began her teaching career at New Bethel in Colbert County. She then moved to Florence City Schools where she taught at Brandon, where she helped design the school, the Hibbett and finally Forest Hills.
Upon retiring she accepted a job at Athens State where she supervised interns.
She was a member of numerous organizations: United Methodist Women, Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary, Lakeside Garden Club and Zeta Chi.
Approximately 15 years ago, she was approached about running for the School Board. She won, and the rest is history. She was instrumental in numerous changes for our schools. Education was everything. She loved teaching and she loved being a Falcon. She leaves behind a legacy the will live long into the future. She gave her all and loved doing so. She is seeing things we have only heard about.
