Thomas Wesley Hardin, a native of Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee, and a resident of Columbia, Tennessee, born October 3, 1944, to Judge William Gregg Hardin and Olivia Long Jenkins Hardin, passed away on December 11, 2016. Tom is survived by his wife, Dwayna Warren Hardin, and children, Kim Hardin of Nashville, Wesley Gray Hardin (Abi), Huntsville, Alabama and Tennessee; Olivia Hanna Hardin, New York, New York; grandchildren: Hardin Fowlkes Manhein, Thomas Gray Hardin Manhein Lauren Lea Manhein, Mary McClure Hardin, Ann Elizabeth Hardin, Wesley Gray Hardin, II and Tate Arthur Sheriff; and son-in-law, Brett Arthur Sheriff, of Nashville; Tom was preceded in death by his daughter, Mary Jenkins Hardin, and brothers, William G. Hardin and John Burke Hardin.
Tom was a 1962 graduate of Webb School of Bellbuckle, Tennessee, a 1966 graduate of Tulane University, and a 1968 graduate of the University of Tennessee School of Law, where he was a member of the Order of the Coif and the comments editor of the Tennessee Law Review.
Tom began his distinguished legal career when he returned to Columbia, Tennessee, where he joined former state Attorney General, William M. Leech Jr., in the practice of law. Tom served as city attorney for the City of Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee, for 47 years. Tom also served as a hearing panel member for the Tennessee Board of Professional Responsibility, as well as serving for the Supreme Court on the Character and Fitness Screening Committee for bar applicants. For over 34 years, Tom annually received the honor of being rated by his peers as “Preeminent” and of the highest ethical standards. Tom was a member of the Maury County Bar Association, the Tennessee Bar Association and was admitted to practice before all Trial and Appellate Courts of the State of Tennessee, the Tennessee Supreme Court and the United States Supreme Court. Tom was a member of St. Peter’s Episcopal Church.
In addition to having a great love for jurisprudence, Tom was a veracious reader, an avid boater, and snow skier, a raved fan of both the Tennessee Volunteers and the Tennessee Titans, and a lover of travel.
A requiem mass will be held on Thursday, December 15, 2016, at 5 o’clock p.m. at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Columbia, Tennessee. Visitation will be held from 3 o’clock p.m. to 5 o’clock p.m. in the church hall. A private ceremony for family will be held at St. John’s Cemetery.
In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to the Webb School, Bellbuckle, Tennessee; St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Parrish Hall; Mt. Pleasant Main Street Foundation; St. John’s Cemetery; or Lawrence Cemetery, Mt. Pleasant, Tennessee.
